Wild Arms: Bonds Across Time
by The Special Pancake
Summary: ACF/WA3. Set 2 years after both games. Once more Filgaia is being threatened by a demon menace, capable of ripping apart the very fabric of space and time. In an act of desperation, the Guardians enlist the help of Team Maxwell, sending them across the planes of existence to assist Team Roughnight, along with the help of a mysterious new ally.
1. Chapter 1: A New Threat

**Authors Note: As mentioned, this is a crossover between Wild Arms ACf, and Wild Arms 3. It has a little bit of everything. Action, adventure, suspense, humor, romance, and more shenanigans than you can shake a stick at. What else would you expect from Jack and Gallows being in a room together with Hanpan wisecracking at both of them? Pairings: Jack/Elmina (Rose), Clive/Catherine, eventual Rudy/Cecilia, eventual Jet/Virginia. Wild Arms belongs to Sony and Media Vision**

 **Edits: 12/21:** Fixing some formatting flubs that I forget this site does not like

* * *

In a remote mountainous land of Southern Filgaia, a small castle sat nestled in to the rocky landscape. The inner most parts of which had been transformed in to an elaborate laboratory. A demon scientist stood in front of a large bank of consoles, his arms crossed over his chest, intently watching a series of numbers and symbols scroll across the screens. Crimson and black armored plating adorned his body; his face obscured by a crimson visor. Behind him on the far side of the room, a mechanical door slid open. A tall, muscular woman entered. She wore knee high leather boots; a white, once piece skirted outfit, which parted in the front, revealing a pair of dark brown shorts, along with a matching leather corset fastened around her torso. In a holster slung across her right hip was a large, pistol type ARM. Her long, fiery orange colored hair, tied up in a high ponytail, swayed behind her as she swiftly crossed the room, walking towards him. She approached the scientist, coming to a stop behind him, and slightly bowed her head to him.

"Virgil, Sir." She said as she addressed him.

Virgil continued to stare intently at the screens in front of him. "Vivian." He spoke, not taking his eyes of the screen. His voice dark and intimidating. "It has been nearly two years to the day. Just as predicted, our Lord is almost ready to emerge from his incubation chamber. How long we have waited for this day to come and to finally be with our leader once again."

"Indeed." Vivian responded with a slight nod. "Though I am rather surprised that Sybil was able to sustain him non stop like she has. Clearly I was wrong to underestimate her. A solid two years in deep meditation-".

Virgil spun around to face her, clutching his fist in front of her. "Don't ever underestimate the powers of a demon psychic." he spat, sharply reprimanding her. "What Sybil may lack in physical strength, she greatly compensates for in her mental prowess. And when enhanced by the empathite pillars, her powers are almost limitless. She could easily kill the likes of you effortlessly and at will."

Vivian bowed to him. "My apologies, Sir."

"Go now, and gather the others. We must begin making final preparations for his emergence." Virgil ordered her.

"Very well, Sir." She bowed her head once more, before turning and leaving the room without hesitance.

"Soon." Virgil spoke out loud to himself. "The demon race shall rise again and squash every bit of human and Guardian existence out of this planet. Then we shall finally have a home to rule as our own. Just like you hoped to see, Lord Alhazad."

* * *

Cecilia opened her eyes and sat up. She was surprised to find herself not in her bedroom, but instead enveloped in darkness. A bright, white-blue orb of light appeared hovering before her.

 _Huh… Am I dreaming?_ She thought as she stood up and approached the floating light.

"Shaman Cecilia." The collective voices of the Guardians called out to her, the orb flickering as they spoke. "Once more a great darkness threatens Filgaia. You must make haste and join with your two warriors, uniting once more for the sake of the planet. However, your might alone will not be enough this time."

Cecilia nodded. "I understand. Do you wish for me to gather Jane, and the others as well?"

"While they, too, possess great powers, their powers still are not enough. Reaching across time and space, we have sought the help of another team of warriors, whom are familiar with the metal demons and possess strengths on par with that of your and your warriors."

Surprised, Cecilia's eyes widened. "Help from people of another time and space? How is that even possible?" She asked.

"There are many things that are possible, which are far beyond the realm of human comprehension, young shaman. Do you doubt this?"

"I do not." Cecilia responded, shaking her head.

"Go forth now. Gather your warriors, and bring them to the temple of Dan Dairam. Hurry shaman, once again the fate of Filgaia is resting upon your shoulders." The guardians voices faded away and the orb of light in front of her disappeared in a bright flash.

Cecilia blinked a couple of times as the darkness faded away. She looked around at the familiar sight of her bedroom in Adlehyde Castle. The warm morning sunlight flooded in through her open windows, as a soft early summer breeze gently wafted the curtains. A symphony of chirping birds echoed through the trees outside in the courtyard. She slid out from under the covers of her bed, and quickly padded across her bedroom, over to the adjoining washroom. Once she finished her morning routine, she hurried over to her large, wooden wardrobe. She riffled through her assortment of elegant, finely crafted gowns and dresses, before pulling out her royal blue traveling outfit and tan leather boots, which she kept safely tucked away in the back of the wardrobe. Standing in the middle of her room, she quickly stripped herself of her nightgown, and changed in to her outfit before her chambermaid arrived. Her clothes seemed to fit a little more snugly in a few places than she last remembered. Perhaps she had grown more than she had realized since she last donned them several months ago. After some adjustments to the waist belt, and the bindings on her blouse, she had it back to a perfect fit. She slid open a small drawer in the bottom of the wardrobe and removed her red favorite red headband. She slipped it in to her now shoulder blade length flaxen blonde hair. Before leaving her room, she gave her appearance a final once over in her full length mirror. As she walked down the long corridor of the castle towards the opposite wing where the guest bedrooms were located, she brushed right past Ozma, her personal guard, completely unaware of his presence.

"Good morning ,Your Highness." He greeted her with a bow as she hurried passed him.

Cecilia halted in her tracks, her feet practically skidding on the grey stone floor. She turned around, and headed back to the middle-aged knight, fully clad in shining white armor. "Good morning Ozma. Do you know if Rudy has returned from the excavation yet?" She asked him.

Ozma shook his head. "I have not seen him at all, and I have been here all morning, Your Highness. Was he due back soon?"

Cecilia nodded. "They were supposed to have been back by now. I need to speak with him right away. I am going to head in to town and check in with Professor Emma to see if she knows anything. Please inform Uncle Johan of my whereabouts if he comes looking for me. And if you see Rudy before I get back, please tell him to come find me." She instructed.

"Very well, Your Highness." Ozma bowed to her.

"Thank you Ozma!" Cecilia called back as she walked away, changing her direction towards the stairwell.

Outside, the bustling cobblestone streets of downtown Adlehyde were busy as always. All around her, townspeople and street vendors bowed their head to her as they called out their greetings and well wishes. Cecilia smiled and waved back, trying to acknowledge as many as she could as she quickly wove her way through the crowds to Professor Emma's workshop. She entered the large wooden house and looked around the main room. Usually The Professor's assistant and some of her workers could be found there. But today it was empty. "Professor Emma?!" Cecilia called out.

"Down here!" Prof. Emma's voice echoed up the stairwell.

Cecilia made her way down the stairs that led in to Prof. Emma's private work room. There, she found the green haired engineer sitting at her table with some sort of magnifying contraption strapped to her head. Her well practiced hands carefully used a small screw driver to make adjustments to a large piece of machinery laid out on the table before her. She lifted the magnifying glass out from in front of her face and looked up at Cecilia. "What can I help you with, Cecilia?" She asked.

"I am sorry to bother you, Professor," Cecilia bowed. "but has Rudy or anyone else from the excavation returned yet?"

Prof. Emma shook her head. "No. I haven't heard anything from them since my assistant radioed me last night. He told me that they had been delayed again, but that they were planning to return some time today. Why? Is something the matter? You looked worried. And I see that you are in your traveling clothes." She noticed as she eyed Cecilia up and down.

"Well, I am not sure yet what exactly is going on." Cecilia sighed, as she turned to the side, leaning her back against the stair rail, and clasping her hands together in front of her. "This morning I was contacted by the Guardians with an ominous message. So I need to speak with Rudy about it as soon as possible."

"Did you want to try and see if you can reach him on the radio?" Prof. Emma offered.

"Thank you, but I can wait until he is back. I would hate to interrupt him if he is working."

"I see…" Prof. Emma responded, furrowing her brows together as she thought. "Well, I will send him to you the moment he gets back, alright?"

"Thank you, Professor. I am going to head back to the castle and wait for him." Cecilia said as she bowed towards Prof. Emma. She then turned and started heading back up the stairs.

"Let me know if I can offer you my assistance at any time. You know that I am always here for you guys." Prof. Emma called after her.

Cecilia peered back around the corner at her. "Thank you. It is appreciated." She said before she disappeared back up the stairs.

* * *

Gallows woke up in his bed, sprawled out on his stomach; his pillow covered in drool. "Ugh what the hell kind of dream was that?" He mumbled to himself as she groggily sat up and wiped at his face. He looked around and noticed that the large clay hut was empty. _Must have slept in again._ He thought as he stretched and yawned. _I thought this dream vision stuff was supposed to be Shane's department. Guess I should go and ask him about it._ Fighting off his drowse, he willed himself to get up and readied himself for the day. Fastening his ARM in its holster around his waist, he made his way out of the family hut, squinting in the bright sunlight that greeted him as he shielded his hand over his eyes. Most of the villagers had already finished their morning prayer and had set themselves about their days work. Yawning once more, he sauntered over to the cave which housed the town altar. Inside its cool darkness, a few villagers remained on their knees, finishing up their prayer. At the head of the altar knelt his younger brother Shane, and grandmother Halle, their heads bowed and their arms crossed in front of them.

Halle cracked open one of her eyes upon hearing Gallows' heavy footsteps approaching from behind her. "Sleeping through morning prayer again I see." She croaked under her breath.

"Yeah, yeah…" Gallows grumbled as he knelt down on the other side of Shane, who remained quiet and motionless, focused on his meditation. Gallows folded his arms and mentally said a quick prayer to the Guardians before speaking again. "Okay I am done. So can we talk now? I reeeaaally need to tell you guys something." His voiced echoed off the walls of the cave as he looked over at the two of them.

Behind them, one of the elderly villagers loudly cleared her voice in annoyance. Beside him both Halle and Shane were giving him sidelong glares.

"Brother, we need to wait until we are out of the altar first!" Shane hissed at him.

'Well hurry it up then." Gallows quietly shot back.

"Both of you hush it or I will knock your heads together." Halle sternly reprimanded her grandsons in an intimidating, yet quiet tone, one which she had perfected over years of scolding the two of them.

Pretending to remain in prayer, Gallows waited impatiently for them to finish. Once Shane and Halle were done, the trio got up to their feet, Shane assisting his grandmother, and they made their way back out in to the village.

Once outside, Halle turned to face Gallows. "Okay numbskull. What was all of that about?" She demanded.

"Well… you know how you had those dream visions, Shane?" Gallows asked as he faced his younger brother. Shane nodded in response. "Ummm… I kinda think I had one." He said uncertainly, scratching at the back of his head.

Shane immediately perked up. "Really?! What was it about?" He questioned him excitedly.

"It was the Guardians. They were telling me that I need to gather Virginia and the others and head over to Infinitum. But it was really bizarre. They said that we needed to travel to some alternate past and help in order to preserve our own future." He explained as he cocked his eyebrows.

'Hmmm." Shane thought out loud, bringing his finger to his lips. "An alternate past? Is such a thing even possible?"

Halle Shrugged. "I guess the only way to find out is to do what the guardians ask, go get your friends, and hope that you don't end up trapped in another dimension."

Gallows furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Trapped in another dimension? What are you talking about? Are you finally goin' senile?"

"Are you so short sighted that you honestly think things are as black and white as they appear on the surface?" Halle chided him.

"Uh are you goin' blind too old lady? Because the world is full of color to me." Gallows teased her as a mocking grin spread across his face.

"Don't be a smartass!" Halle scolded him as she swung her staff at Gallows, knocking him on the side of the head. Shane snorted in to his hands, doing his best not to laugh out loud. The old woman continued her lecture. "Clearly you have learned very little from everything you have experienced over these past several years. The Guardians are the collective thoughts of the planet that live on a different plane of existence. They are not something tangible that walk among us. That is why we have the mediums. They are the Guardians gateway in to our world. So does it really surprise you that the Guardians can transcend space and time? That there are things out there that we may never comprehend?"

"I knew all of that," Gallows frowned, rubbing the sore spot on his head. "I have been to another dimension before when we fought that crazy dream demon, remember? I just didn't think something would ever happen where the Guardians would physically teleport us to an entirely different time plane. But yeah I guess I just hafta go and find out for myself, huh?"

"Indeed." Halle nodded. "And if the guardians were desperate enough to come to you of all people, then it must be urgent."

"That's not very nice Granny. I've come a pretty far way these past couple of years!" Gallows scoffed at her.

"You and I must have very different definitions of 'far', then. You should have been able to become a full fledged priest by now. Not still be an apprentice at the age of 26. Now if you will excuse me, I am late for my morning tea with Judy. Come and say goodbye before you go." With that she left him and Shane standing there as she started walking towards her friends hut on the other side of the Baskar colony.

"So are you going to leave right away then?" Shane pouted as he looked up at his older brother.

"Yeah I am, no sense in waitin' around for trouble to come find me. Guess I better go pack then." Gallows sighed as he started walking back towards his family's clay hut.

Shane followed along with Gallows, falling in to step beside him. "Doesn't any of this scare you? Even a little bit?"

Gallows shrugged. "A little. It is hard not to be a little anxious before the start of any mission. But I just hafta have faith in my skills, my companions, and in the Guardians; hoping that I will get to come home at the end of the day, no matter where things take me. Plus I know that you'll be praying for our safety."

"I will." Shane glanced up at Gallows as they entered the hut. "I just wish there was more I could do sometimes to take some of the burden off you."

"Eh." Gallows grunted as he got down on his knees next to his cot and dug around underneath it for his traveling pack. "I wouldn't really call it a burden. I just do what has to be done. But don't sell yourself short. Knowing that you are here to take care of Granny is a big help, especially now. She is what, going on 200 or something? You can't leave the old and senile alone for too long." Gallows winked as he pulled out a fringed, saffron colored linen satchel and shook it off a few times, clearing his throat from the plume of dust sent flying in to the air.

Shane laughed at his brother's joke. "It is always so boring around here with you gone. I Hope you aren't away for long this time." He said as he watched Gallows pull himself up to his feet.

"Hopefully. Unless I get trapped in another dimension or something like Granny said. But you take good care of her, ok Shane?" Gallows gave him a rather serious look as the two of them quickly gathered up supplies for Gallows' trip.

"I will." Shane promised. Gallows finished shoving a sack full of healing items in to his satchel, and buttoned it closed. He grabbed his bedroll and canteen from under his cot, slipping the canteen strap over himself and buckling the bedroll to his satchel. The two of them then left the hut together. Gallows quickly stopped by the well to fill his canteen before heading to Judy's to bid his grandma farewell. Afterward, Shane walked with him as far as the town gate. Gallows quickly gave Shane a brotherly hug, before pulling the teleport orb out of his pocket and warping to Boot Hill to meet up with Virginia.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Hey! Look who is back from a, what, four year hiatus? This enormous endeavor, one of which I am hoping you enjoy diving head long in to with me, was originally conceived by my silly little teenage self some 13 years ago after playing Wild Arms 3 and thinking, "Damn, those two would make a great crossover." And then I played Alter Code and thought, "Damn, now that would make an even better one!" It only took me half a life time to get to it. Originally it started as WA1/WA3, but I felt that ACF better suited the feel I was going for, but some parts here and there do pay homage to what I originally wrote in my notebooks while pretending to pay attention in class. I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to review. They are good for the soul. :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Old Friends Reunite

**Authors note: At long last, chapter two. Between the holidays and getting sick, this took a lot longer than anticipated. My goal is to have a new chapter posted every week or two. One thing I forgot to mention last chapter, because this is a post game continuation, I think it goes without saying that there will be spoilers for both games. Now you can't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

After eating a quick breakfast, Cecilia returned to her room to pack, and wait, even though she had no idea when Rudy would actually be returning that day. She tried to pass time by pacing, reading, and even taking a nap, but the later two proved to be fruitless efforts. It was now almost one in the afternoon and several hours had passed before she finally heard a much anticipated knock on her bedroom door. Cecilia leapt off her bed and ran to her door, practically throwing it open. On the other side of it stood none other than Rudy, looking exhausted and winded. On the ground beside his feet was his traveling gear.

"Hey…" He greeted her, holding his chest as he fought to catch his breath. "I hurried here… as quick as I could… Is everything okay?"

"Umm, did you run here? And carrying all of your things?" Cecilia gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"Both Professor Emma… and Ozma made it sound like it was really… urgent… so yes…" He said between pants.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It wasn't _that_ urgent."

He exhaled deeply as he turned and leaned against the door frame, supporting himself against it, "I guess it can't be helped. So, what's going on anyway?"

"This morning I received an ominous message from the Guardians. They said that another threat is looming and that we need to act immediately. I can fill you in more after we meet up with Jack. So we should probably be going right away."

"Right this very moment?" He said with a frown.

"Well, yes. We do not want to dawdle around."

Rudy tilted his head as he looked at her pleadingly, "Can I at least get cleaned up and change first? Maybe re-pack my gear…and get something to eat?" As he said that last part his stomach growled loudly.

Cecilia looked him over. In her haste she had not noticed how disheveled he was. His face and clothes covered in sweat, dirt, and what she hoped was monster blood. His mop of unruly blue hair was even more disheveled than usual. Cecilia laughed awkwardly "That would probably be a good idea. I'm Sorry. I suppose I got a little bit ahead of myself. You go ahead and take all the time you need to get yourself ready."

"Just give me an hour and I will meet you back here." He said as he bent down to gather up his gear.

"Sounds good." Cecilia said with a nod. "Come to think of it, I have not even told Uncle Johan that I am leaving. I should probably go and take care of that, huh?"

"You have fun with that," Rudy said as he flashed her a teasing grin, "I'll see you in a little bit." He said before he turned and headed down the long corridor toward his room on the other wing of the castle.

After a very lengthy, round a bout argument/lecture form Minister of State Johan, Cecilia trudged her way up the stairwell and back toward her bedroom. Flustered, she muttered about him under her breath as she made her way down the stone hall. The loud stomping of her feet echoing off the walls around her. She looked up and saw Rudy approaching from the other direction. He had changed in to a fresh pair of blue jeans and a light grey, short sleeved button down shirt. His holstered ARM slung over his right hip. He no longer sported his trademark red bandanna these days. Or rather, it got destroyed last year when he had to fashion it in to a makeshift bandage during one of Professor Emma's expeditions, and he just never bothered to replace it. Once he saw her coming, he immediately noticed the perturbed expression on her face as she drew near. "So I take it your Uncle is not thrilled about your leaving again?" He asked, as they met in front of her bedroom door. He set down his gear so he could put on the brown corduroy jacket he had slung over his shoulder.

"Of course not!" Cecilia huffed as she swung her door open, a loud bang echoed through her room as the door slammed against the wall behind it. She marched inside to quickly retrieve her luggage and scepter. "I don't know why he has to give me the same lecture every single time I leave. It is not like I have a choice in the matter… sometimes… Okay so maybe in the past I left a little more than I should have. But this time it's different! When the Guardians themselves tell me the world is in danger, I have to act! Would he rather I stay here and fill out pointless paper work, and take princess lessons, while the planet is destroyed?" She continued to rant as she gave her room one last look over to make sure she had everything. "I mean, if I did not go and attend to these duties as well, then there would be no more Adlehyde, or Filgaia for that matter. Would he prefer that option?" She left her room and hastily shut the door behind her. "I mean, I am making sense, right?" She lowered her voice as she asked Rudy, who quickly nodded in agreement. "Good. Now let us be on our way."

Together they made their way out of the castle and through town. Once again, Cecilia was faced with a barrage of greetings and well wishes from the townspeople. After she finished putting on a happy face for her citizens, Cecilia continued her brooding to herself as soon as they passed under the city gate. They walked down the well traveled cobblestone path, bordered by trees on either side, which lead out of Adlehyde to the wilderness beyond. Once her flared emotions started to even out, Cecilia breathed a deep sigh. "Sorry about my complaining to you back at the castle. It's just that, it really gets under my skin when he does that." Cecilia apologized.

Rudy shook his head, "It's no trouble. Actually I can't say that I blame you for being upset. He shouldn't lecture you like that every time you need to take care of things."

"You're right. He shouldn't." Cecilia agreed with him. "… I know he means well. He just wants what is best for the kingdom and the royal family. But, I am trying my hardest to do what is best for everyone and it feels like I keep getting pulled in so many different directions all at once. It's frustrating."

"I know that there is not much I can do to help with what you've been going through, but just know I will always be there for you." Rudy said as he looked over at her.

"I know." She smiled, back at him. "And just knowing that helps."

Parked just past the end of the path was the bright red Gullwing aircraft which Professor Emma had built for their team two years ago. Together they approached it as Rudy began digging in his back pocket for the key, pulling it out as they reached the door. "Do you mind flying to Milama?" He asked her as he unlocked the door. "I was hoping to rest some while on the way there."

"Of course not!" Cecilia said as she brightened up, quickly forgetting about her troubles with her uncle as she stepped inside. "It has been a while since I've last had the chance." Together they made their way to the cockpit. Cecilia sat down in the pilot seat as Rudy sank down beside her in to the co-pilot chair." Her heart skipped a beat as she started the ignition. She always loved the sound and feeling of the engine turbines roaring to life. The Gullwing lurched up as she took it in to hover mode. A persistent, unsteady shaking rattled the aircraft as it quickly gained altitude. Cecilia shot Rudy an uneasy look, "Does the Gullwing seem more… shaky than usual?" She asked him, as concern for their well being crept over her.

Rudy nodded. "The Professor has been saying that is in need of a tune up, and that she just has not gotten to it yet. But she did say that it 'hopefully will not blow up on us anytime soon.'"

"That is very… reassuring…" Cecilia said, uneasily as she headed course towards Milama

"Indeed." Rudy agreed, the corners of his lips pulling in to a slight frown.

Several long minutes of silence fell between them as they flew. "I have been meaning to ask," Cecilia eventually spoke up over the louder-than-usual hum of the engines. "how did the excavation go? You seem exhausted."

"Hell." He responded flatly, his voice tired. Cecilia widened her eyes at his response. It was extremely rare for him to ever use foul language. Rudy continued. "Never have I ever encountered so many monsters. And I had to handle them all by myself. They were even attacking our camp during the night, so nobody got much sleep for the whole two-and-a-half weeks. I nearly ran out of both ammo and healing items. All of the attacks also put us behind schedule, so we completely ran out of food early yesterday. I don't mind transporting and guarding Professor Emma's excavation teams, it's a good job for me. But she needs to hire some help or this job is literally going to be the end of me" He said as he folded his hands behind his head, leaning back in his seat as he watched the landscape pass by beneath them.

"Bad as all that?" Cecilia said as she frowned sympathetically. "Sounds like you guys really could have used some help. I am sorry. I wish I could have come along this time…"

Rudy sat up as he looked over at her contritely. "Oh, no, please don't blame yourself. You already have enough going on right now." He said as he scratched nervously at the back of his head. "To be honest, it really was not _all_ bad. Nobody was seriously hurt this time, and the team did uncover some really useful artifacts. Professor Emma thinks she may be close to creating a second flying machine with help from what we were able to bring back."

"Well I guess there is a silver lining in then. But wow another flying machine? I can't wait to see what becomes of that." Cecilia paused, and then looked over at him smiling gently. "And Rudy, thank you for all of your hard work. You really are making a difference, not just for Adlehyde, but for all of Filgaia. No matter how difficult the job gets, you always manage to get things done and bring everyone home safe. You should be proud of yourself for that."

"Oh… you're welcome," He blushed slightly. "though you really don't need to thank me. I am just doing my job. And the same can be said for you too. You are working just as hard to make Filgaia a better place."

"Either way, I think you earned some rest, so you go ahead and relax. We've got a little ways to go until Milama."

* * *

A quick flash of red light and several moments later, Gallows found himself standing in front of the entrance to the farming town of Boot Hill. Some of the townsfolk who were near by looked up from their labors to see who had just arrived in to their town. Once they recognized the new comer was on of Virginia's posse, a few people regarded him with a welcoming nod before returning to their work. Gallows made his way along a well worn uphill path to a small grouping of old wooden farm houses. He came to a stop outside the first house situated along the path. In the garden out front knelt Virginia and her aunt, pulling weeds from the soft earth beneath them.

"Hey Ginny!" Gallows put his hands around his mouth, calling out to her.

Startled, Virginia bolted upright and spun around in the direction the voice came from. Only one person ever called her that name. "Gallows!" She exclaimed as a welcoming smile spread across her face. She quickly leapt to her feet and rushed over to greet her friend, giving him a side hug. "What brings you all the way out here?" She asked him as she let go, brushing the dirt from her hands on to the light blue gingham skirt she was wearing, the knees of which had splotched of dirt ground in to them.

"Business from the guardians. Seems kinda serious too." He answered her, furrowing her brows.

"Aunt Shalte I need to take care of something!" Virginia called over her shoulder to her aunt as she ushered Gallows towards the house. "Here, lets talk inside." She said to her team mate, holding open the door for him. The pair entered the farmhouse together and made their way in to the kitchen. Gallows took a seat at the large, square, glossy wooden kitchen table.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Virginia offered as she edged her way around the table to the chair across from him.

Gallows held up a hand. "Nah I'm good, thanks." He glanced curiously around the room as Virginia sat down. "Hey wait a minute. Isn't Jet supposed to be hangin' around here with you?"

"Yes and no." Virginia sighed as she puffed out her lower lip, blowing a stray strand hair out of her face. "He headed off some time ago to look for work on his own for a while. He still checks in every so often. But it has been a few weeks since I've last seen him. Last I heard he was headed to Little Twister to pull in some bounties or something." She said, an annoyed look crossing her face as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

Gallows rolled his eyes, "Aw great. So we are going to have to track his ass down now too, huh? Well, whatever. So back to business; the Guardians came to me in a dream. They told me that we need to gather everyone up and head to the time Guardian's temple. And here is where things get tricky. Apparently they want to teleport us to some alternate past that is under some huge threat that could alter our time line as well."

Virginia pulled back, her jaw going slack as she looked at him in disbelief, unable to reckon any sort of response.

Gallows chuckled at the astonished look on her face, "I know right. That's about how I felt too."

"How is any of that even possible?" She asked.

Gallows shrugged. "No idea. Granny said something about the Guardians existing on some different space time plane or whatever. Either way, I s'pose we should at least gather everyone up and go investigate."

Virginia put her hand on her chin and nodded, "I suppose so. We should not have too much trouble roping Jet in for this one, once we actually find him. Clive on the other hand… He is not going to like this. What with the baby and all…"

"Oh yeah, he wanted to be left out for a little while so he could be at home with his family." Gallows scratched the side of his head, as he remembered how long it had been since he had even been to visit the Winslett's last. "I just realized I have not been by to see them since she was born. Now I feel like a bad friend." He said with a pout.

Virginia shook her head, "Don't worry about that. I actually paid them a visit last month. They are doing well but very busy, so don't feel too bad." She said as she stood up from her chair and stretched her arms up over her head. "Well, I suppose I have some packing to do. You can make yourself at home while you wait. I shouldn't be long."

"Actually, I was hopin' to pay my horse a visit, since I am here." Gallows said as he stood up. "How are they workin' out for you guys, anyway?"

"Spoiled." Virginia smiled as she walked over towards the stairs and paused, standing on the first step. "They are getting along well with the other horses. And they have been a great help on the farms here. Actually, the whole town has been loving on them quite a bit. Especially the kids. They've definitely been earning all those carrots everyone here is treating them with. Anyway, I will come find you when I am done." She said as she dismissed him with a wave, and headed up the stairs.

Gallows left the house and started walking back down the path towards the town stable. After their group disbanded a little over a year ago, they decided that the best thing to do with their horses was to send them all back to Boot Hill with Virginia. That way the horses would be well looked after, and still be able to see their owners from time to time. It also allowed the townspeople to utilize the horses for work on the farms. The situation proved to be beneficial to all around. Gallows spied his charcoal black gelding standing in the large fenced in pen, along with the other horses. "Irving!" Gallows called out. The horse raised it's head, pricking his ears when he heard his name called and happily trotted over to greet his old friend. After spending a short while petting the horses, he heard footsteps approaching. He looked behind his shoulder and saw Virginia walking up to him. She had changed in to her usual lavender dress and leather traveling boots. Holstered around her hips were her dual revolver ARMs. She carried her brown suitcase in her hands in front of her. "That was quick." Gallows noted as he turned to face her.

"I keep most of my things together these days so I can always be at the ready, just in case." She explained. "I already said bye to my Aunt and Uncle as well. So shall we be off?"

"Okay. But where should we go next?" Gallows asked.

Virginia held her finger up to her lips as she thought for a moment. "Hmm…Maybe we should find Jet next. I would hate to drag Clive around with us on a wild goose chase. So once we go to get him, the rest of us should be ready to leave right away."

"That makes sense." Gallows agreed. "So where do we start looking? Should we call Lombardia?"

"I think it would be quicker to just teleport to Little Twister, since that is where I know he was headed last. And if he is not there, then perhaps we can get a lead on his whereabouts and use Lombardia to track him down." Virginia suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Gallows said as he produced the teleport orb from his pocket. Virginia stepped up next to him, placing her hand on it and the two vanished in a flash of red light.

Moments later the pair arrived in the seedy desert town of Little Twister. The air was thick with dust, sand and the smell of tobacco smoke. Drifters and townsfolk alike milled up and down the streets, going about their day. Nobody bothered to look up in the direction of the new arrivals. A group of four young boys rushed past them, bumping in to Virginia as they ran, paying no mind to her. They pointed toy ARMs at each other as they shouted, seemingly engrossed in a game of cops and robbers. "I can't stand coming here." Virginia grumbled to Gallows under her breath as she took the teleport orb and pocketed it. "Of all the places he could have gone to…"

"We should just find him and get it over with. Should probably check at the inn first." Gallows suggested.

Virginia nodded in agreement, "Good idea." she said. Together they made their way down the dusty main road towards the Honey of Roses inn. It was a small establishment run by a rough, but beautiful woman named Angela. It was also the only reliable place to stay in town due to the fact that it had higher prices and charged by the night as opposed to hourly rates, unlike many of the other venues lined up and down the street. Just as they were approaching the building, Jet came walking out of it with his black travel bag slung over his left shoulder.

"Sheesh. Out of the frying pan and in to the fire." He greeted them as he came to a halt, his violet eyes looked over the two of them questioningly.

"Nice to see you too, Jet…" Virginia responded, tersely. "where were you off too anyway?"

Jet scoffed. "What? Do I have to explain my every move or something? I was actually on my way back to Boot Hill, since work ran dry here. No sense in hanging around this slum. So I take it a job has come up or something?" He asked, setting down his bag.

"Yeah, you could say something like that." Gallows said as he waved his hand in the air casually.

Jet turned his side towards them, leaning up against a wooden beam supporting the awning over the front of the inn and folding his arms across his chest. "So, let's hear it then." He said with a nod towards them.

"Well…" Virginia began to explain. "The Guardians have-"

"You can stop right there!" Jet cut her off. "Not interested." He said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Excuse me?!" Virginia spat at him. "Not interested? What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I am not interested. Last time we got tangled up in their business, we ended up unpaid, framed for murder and with a bounty on our heads. I'm done with anything involving the Guardians. For good." Jet said definitively as he turned his head and looked away.

"Well too bad. This is not something you can just walk away from. Like it or not, you are coming with us." Virginia practically shouted at him.

Jet looked over and glared at her, "What are you gonna do? Tie me up and drag me along?"

"If I have to!"

"Good luck trying!"

"Uh guys…" Gallows said as he leaned in, breaking up their little spat. "You might want to cool it down. People are starting to stare." he pointed out to them. Virginia and Jet stared each other down tensely for several moments. Gallows looked from one to the other nervously. Unsure of what was going to transpire next.

Jet threw his hands up in the air in defeat, "Fine! whatever!" he growled. He stooped down and whisked up his bag. "Let's just get it over with before I change my mind."

"Glad to have you aboard." Virginia smiled as she switched back to her normal, more chipper demeanor. "Now we just need to go and get Clive." She said as she pulled the teleport orb from her dress pocket and held it out to the two men.

* * *

"Hey Rudy. Ruuuuudy! Wake up!" Cecilia said as she gently prodded him on the shoulder.

"Huh?" He responded groggily as he slowly started to wake up. "What's wrong?" He asked, brushing some wayward strands his of blue hair out of his face.

"Nothing's wrong. We are here." Cecilia said as she straightened herself. She had already landed and shut down the Gullwing, and was now standing next to him.

Blinking the drowse away, he leaned his head back against the chair. "Oh, already? It feels like I just passed out a minute ago."

Cecilia shook her head. "No it has been just shy of two hours. You must really be tired." She said as she tilted her head and frowned sympathetically. "Shall we go and get Jack, then?"

"Sure." He nodded as he stretched. He stood up and followed her out of the Gullwing.

Meanwhile, inside the Milama Town Pub, Jack, the former knight turned treasure hunter, who now worked as a town guard, sat at a table, kicked back in a chair, his feet resting upon another. About a year ago, while visiting town along with Cecilia and Rudy, Jack single handedly broke up a drunken pub brawl. The sheriff, who just so happened to be there that evening enjoying a meal with his wife, offered Jack a job on the spot. After some consideration, he opted to leave his companions and take the job, which also offered him a chance to work at rekindling his relationship with the reincarnated Elmina, who now went by the name of Rose. Jack held a "Filgaia Times" newspaper out in front of him as he sat, only somewhat paying attention to it. Hanpan, his blue-furred wind mouse companion, sat on the table beside him, eating slices of apple, sharing in on reading the newspaper. Jack shifted his eyes from the periodical, carefully keeping watch on an adjacent table at which three heavily intoxicated wanderers were sitting. Something told him that he did not much like the looks of them ever since they had arrived in town the other night. He had been keeping close supervision on them since.

He saw the red hair of the pub's waitress bobbing over the top of his newspaper, approaching the rowdy group of men. "Ok boys," Rose announced as she laid their tab down before them. "you have had enough to drink for one afternoon and I am cutting you off. Time to pay up and head out." She said before turning to leave.

One of the men, with long greasy brown hair tied back in to a sloppy ponytail, reached out and grabbed Rose by the wrist, catching her off guard. He pulled her back to his side and slid an arm around her waist. "Hey there missy." He said with a sleazy tobacco stained grin. "My buddies here and I seem to be a little short on cash this afternoon." The other two men sneered as he spoke. "We was wondering if perhaps the four of us could arrange for a _different_ method of payment?" He winked as he slid his hand down towards her backside.

Rose's face darkened as her hand shot down to pull his off of her. But before she could, Jack was behind her, holding the wanderer by the wrist, twisting his arm back painfully, causing the man to cry out in agony.

"Hey there fellas!" Jack grinned as he greeted them sarcastically. "I couldn't help but notice that the three of you are new in town. So allow me to introduce myself: I am the guy who helps keep the peace here. And well, you see, we don't really tolerate poor manners in Milama. And I am afraid that you guys have broken that rule one too many times since you arrived. So I am going to have to ask you to leave now." He said as he released the mans arm.

"Hey, Ah know 'bout you." A second man from their trio, younger looking than the other two, wearing a black cowboy hat spoke up. "A swordsman with long, blond hair who travels with a pet mouse." He said as he nodded towards Jack's sheathed sword hanging from his left hip. "Yer Jack Van Burace ain't ya? One of them fellas which defeated the legendry metal demons a couple years back. Ah heard ya settled down and was no longer in the game anymore. So this where ya been holed up?"

"I am not a damn pet!" Hanpan shouted angrily, peering around Jack to glare at the man, his front paws balled into little fists.

Jack held out his hand towards Hanpan, silencing him. "Ah, so I see that you have heard of me. So then you should know that having defeated the demons, low lifes like you are no match for me."

The first man, still rubbing his sore wrist, leered up at Jack "If you are such a big deal, then what are you doing settling down in a dump like this to play watchdog? Or have you just gone soft over the years?"

Jack leaned forward, slamming his hands on the table with a loud bang, causing it to rattle violently. "Ok, here is how this is going to go, assholes." He said, lowering his voice menacingly. "The three of you can pay up, making sure to leave the nice waitress a big, fat tip for her trouble, and get out of my town immediately. Or, I can escort you out. But first let me explain one thing: Inside these walls I may be bound by the town law, but the second I set foot outside that gate I can do whatever the hell I want. And any belongings I happen to take off your dead bodies will be pawned off to pay your tab. I'll go ahead and let you guys pick, since I am feeling generous today." He straightened himself up as he cracked his knuckles, looking at the three of them expectantly.

"Sheesh just pay the damn bill and lets get the hell out of here." The third man, short and pudgy with a scruffy beard, wearing a blue and green flannel shirt that was missing a couple of buttons spoke up.

"Yeah yeah." The first man grumbled as he pulled a leather wallet from the back pocket of his trousers. He plunked down a pile of gella and stood up. "You should count yourself lucky that we ain't in no fightin' mood today, buddy. Better hope your sorry ass does not ever run in to us out there in the wastes." He threatened Jack before turning to leave with his two companions in tow.

Rose shook her head as she began to clear off their table. "I could have handled them, you know." She said with an amused smile.

Jack rubbed at the back of his head as he watched her work. "Eh I know. But I need to at least look like I am doing my job from time to time. Or else the sheriff will stop paying me." He shrugged.

"Uh huh... And me being your girlfriend had absolutely nothing to do with any of that?" She said as she continued to clean.

"Well… maybe a little bit. Can't say I'm a fan of another guy trying to grab your butt." He said with a sly smirk.

Rose chuckled as she stood upright, picking up the full bar tray, "Either way, I did enjoy that part with the death threat. Nice touch if I do say so myself."

"Oh you liked that?" Jack flashed her a grin, returning to his seat as Rose carried the tray over to Montague, the portly, middle aged pub owner situated behind the bar, who shook his head in derision at the events which had just transpired. Montague placed a tray full of food for another table on the counter before taking the tray of dirty glasses and plates from her.

"Yeah I did." She said, passing by Jack as she carried the order to another one of her tables. After dropping the order off she walked back over to where he was sitting. "So, I get out of work early tonight. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get together later after my shift ended."

"Perhaps" Jack replied coyly. "If I am free. You know I am a pretty busy guy."

Before she had a chance to respond, the bell on the pub door jingled as it opened. Rose turned to greet the customers only to recognize them as Cecilia and Rudy. "Oh look, Jack, your friends are here. Welcome!" She bowed to them.

"Hey!" Jack greeted them, standing up as the pair approached him. He reached out to shake Rudy's outstretched hand before abruptly stopping, pulling his hand back. He tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked Rudy over, a bewildered look spreading across his face.

Rudy took a step back and shifted uncomfortably. "Is something wrong?" He asked Jack.

"Since when are you almost at eye level with me?" Jack said as he folded his arms and looked away. "You better not go and get taller than me now, kid. I won't allow it."

"Uhhh… Okay…" Rudy said awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck, unsure of how to respond.

"Jack, you're being weird." Hanpan chided him as he leapt from atop the table and on to Jacks right shoulder. "It's good to see you guys again! So I take it that something has come up?" Hanpan asked as he shifted his glance between Cecilia and Rudy

"Yes." Cecilia nodded. "The Guardians came to me in a vision this morning. They told me that a new threat is upon us. They also said that they want us to go to Dan Dairam's temple and meet up with some new allies that they are sending to us. I can tell you more about it once we are on our way." She explained.

"Wait, what?" Jack said as he rubbed at his brow. "New allies? Dan Dairam? Which Guardian was that one again?"

"The Guardian of time and space." Cecilia said, exasperated.

"Ah, gotcha. Man, my boss is not going to be happy about this." Jack sighed. He then straightened up and looked over his shoulder at Rose, who was still standing there. "I guess that means I gotta pass on tonight then. Sorry." He apologized as he turned to face her.

"It's a bummer, but I understand." Rose shrugged. "Just make sure you come back home in one piece."

Hanpan happily clapped his front paws together and said, "Oh thank the Guardians! I don't have to sleep with ear plugs tonight!"

"Ugh, whatever." Jack grumbled as he rolled his eyes at his companion.

Cecilia's cheeks turned bright red as she clasped her hands over her mouth, "Oh goodness! Did you two have plans tonight? Did we just ruin something? I am so sorry!" She apologized as she bowed to Rose.

Rose laughed and waved her hand at Cecilia. "It's no big deal. So don't worry about it. Or maybe I could just go and find someone else." She said with a cheeky grin.

Jack's jaw dropped' "You wouldn't!" He said.

"Well, I guess that all depends. I don't want to be all alone if you go and get yourself knocked off. So I guess that means you are going to have to play it safe out there." She said pointedly as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. Behind them at the bar, Montague cleared his throat loudly, indicating to Rose that she needed to get back to work. She sighed as she turned to face everyone. "Ah right, I should be working right now. Did either you want to order anything to eat?" She asked as she looked at Cecilia and Rudy.

"Hmmm," Cecilia pondered, tempted by the thought. She looked over at Jack and Rudy.

Jack waved his hand at her, "Go ahead and get something Princess. It is going to take me some time to get my stuff ready and convince my boss not to fire me." He said.

"Great!" Cecilia beamed as she turned and walked over the counter to view the menu board as Jack and Rudy chatted briefly, catching up from over the past several months since they've seen each other last. After placing her order, she returned to where the two were standing. She stopped and listened in as Jack recounted to Rudy his episode with the three drunk wanderers that went down shortly before their arrival. Seeing him standing there next to Jack, Cecilia noticed that Rudy had perhaps changed a lot more than she realized. Sure she knew that he had grown quite a bit, especially over the last year. When the three of them first met two years prior, she was just slightly taller than him. Now he stood almost an entire head taller than her. She had also noticed some of the more obvious changes in him as well, like his voice maturing and things of that nature. But it was in that moment it became blatantly apparent to her that he really was no longer the baby faced, quiet, innocent, naïve boy she still tried to see him as. All of his boyish features had given way to a handsome, mature, strong, smart, capable young man of 17, just on the cusp of being recognized fully as an adult by Adlehyde standards.

"You ok there, Princess?" She heard Jack ask as he waved a hand in front of her face, breaking her out of her train of thought.

"Huh?" She blinked. "Yes I am fine. Just zoning out as usual. Why was I staring or something?" She asked as her cheeks flushed.

Jack glanced from Cecilia, to Rudy and back to Cecilia again before he shook his head. "Well anyway, I suppose I'd better get a move on it if we want any chance of reaching Baskar before night time. Hey Hanpan, you wanna come with?" He offered to his friend.

"Sure, why not?" The mouse said with a shrug. "I am full from those apples Rose gave me. So no sense in sticking around trying to mooch off of Cecilia's plate."

"Alright then. I will meet you guys back here in a little bit." Jack said as he turned and left the pub.

Cecilia and Rudy sat down together as they waited for her order to come. "Were you going to get anything to eat, Rudy?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I am alright for now. I had a sandwich back at the castle."

Cecilia pursed her lips as she looked over at him. "That was like, two hours ago. But if you say so. I just ordered a light lunch for now since dinner is only a few hours away." She said as she settled in to her seat.

As if on cue, Rose approached their table with Cecilia's order. Her idea of a "light lunch" consisted of a turkey club sandwich with a large bowl of minestrone soup, dinner roll and a double side order of steamed vegetables. Rose set down two cups of hot tea in front of them as well. "Here, I brought an extra cup for you too, Rudy, while you two wait." She said to him.

The pair thanked her as she turned and left. Cecilia stared down hungrily at the expanse of food before her and then frowned as her eyes shifted to the empty table space in front of Rudy. "I can't eat all of it in front of you like this! You really should order something, or I'll feel bad."

Rudy shrugged, "It's okay. Really. I'm fine."

"…I don't think I am going to be able to eat _all_ of these vegetables by myself. So at least share in some of them. Please?" She said as she looked at him pleadingly.

"Alright, alright" Rudy gave in as he added milk to his tea. "I'll have some vegetables."

* * *

In a flash, Virginia, Jet and Gallows arrived at Humphrey's Peak. Not far from the town entrance was the familiar high-pitched blue roof of Clive's home. Shortly after things settled down with the Ark of Destiny and their group managed to clear their names of the founders murder, Clive's wife Catherine became pregnant with their second child. A daughter they named Kelsey. Towards the end of the pregnancy, Clive decided to put a halt on taking missions and traveling in favor of being with his family. Unless of course something of utmost urgency came up, which required his assistance. Inside the house, Clive and his eldest daughter Kaitlyn, now a vivacious girl of six, stood together in the kitchen. Him washing dishes and her drying them. A knock was heard at the door.

"Honey can you get that? I am feeding the baby right now!" Catherine called out to him from a rocking chair in their bedroom on the far end of the house.

"Can I answer it, daddy?" Kaitlyn asked him enthusiastically.

"Alright. But wait for me to come with you." Clive instructed her as he wiped his soapy hands dry on a towel.

Kaitlyn bounded to the door with her father in tow. She gasped as she opened up the door, "Daddy look! It's your friends!" She said as she looked up at him.

Clive peeked around the door at them, "Hello everyone. Please come in." He said, greeting them with a nod.

"Hey Clive, long time no see. How's the family?" Gallows greeted him as they entered.

"Busy, but we are all doing well thank you. How have you been?" Clive asked him in return.

"Same as always." Gallows answered as he shrugged.

Clive glanced over his team mates as they assembled in his living room, "Not that I am unhappy to see all of you here, but I take it that this isn't a mere pleasure visit?" he asked.

Virginia frowned and shook her head, "Unfortunately no. A mission has come up, from the Guardians themselves, and it looks like we are going to need your help with this one. Sorry." she answered.

"Oh hello everyone!" Catherine greeted them as she entered the room, carrying Kelsey on her right hip.

"Hello." Virginia greeted her back. "Oh my gosh she looks like she has doubled in size since I last saw you guys!" Virginia said, her eyes lighting up as she clapped her hands together under her chin.

"Oh yes, growing like a little weed, and grabbing on to anything within reach!" Catherine said as she worked to free her hair from the tight grip of a tiny hand.

Clive turned to face his wife, "Dear, sorry but may my companions and I use the living room for a little while? It appears something has come up, which we need to discuss." He asked her.

"Of course." Catherine said with an understanding nod. She looked down at Kaitlyn, "Hey Katie, why don't we go and play with dolls in your room for a little while?"

"Ok mommy…" Kaitlyn agreed begrudgingly. She waved bye to everyone as she followed her mother out of the room. Virginia smiled and waved back at her as she watched them leave.

Clive took a seat in his armchair, "Please sit down." he invited, motioning to the others. Gallows and Virginia took a seat together on the couch, Jet sat across from them on the loveseat.

"Ok now that we are all here, I suppose we should fill you two in on what is going on." Virginia began.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good place to start." Jet said, leaning back in to the seat, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes, if you could." Clive added in with a nod.

"Right." Gallows said, straightening himself up and clearing his throat, "Okay, so the Guardians came to me in a dream vision. They said that a great threat is encroaching in some alternate Filgaia time, plane thingy and we need to go and take care of it."

Jet looked at Gallows like he grew two extra heads. Clive furrowed his eyebrows, scratching at his right temple. "Wait, hold on a moment." Clive said shaking his head. "We need to take care of something, …where?" He asked the Baskar.

"Okay, okay, let me try this again," Gallows mumbled before clearing his throat again, "Gettin, ahead of myself here." He took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling, "The Guardians told me that there is something going on in an alternate, past Filgaia, that has the power to mess with our Filgaia, or something like that. They want to teleport us there to help defeat it."

"Oh, that's all…" Jet snorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes. .

"Well yeah pretty much." Gallows said with a shrug.

"I can't believe I let you trick me like this." Jet snapped, glaring at Virginia as he balled his left hand in to a fist.

"Tricked you?! What do you mean by that?!" She said as she glared back at him.

Jet's eyes were livid as he continued to glare at her, "You knew about all of this, didn't you? But you did not bother to tell me before dragging me in to it. Sheesh I should have known better…" He grumbled the last part under his breath as he looked away.

Virginia groaned loudly, "I wasn't trying to trick you." she tried to explain, "yes Gallows filled me in briefly. I just decided it would be quicker and easier to go over all of the details about it together, so we would not have to repeat the story several times. The Guardians said you have to come, like it or not. So why should it matter if we tell you then or now?"

"Because I like knowing what I am getting myself into, before I go getting myself in to it!" He argued, slamming his fisted hand in to his left thigh.

"Fine, whatever!" Virginia spat. "You can be as mad at me as you want the whole time we are gone! But you are coming whether you like it or not!" She said definitively.

"Yeah I am coming. And you better believe I am going to be mad at you the whole time." Jet huffed, folding his arms and looking away from everyone.

"Fine!" Virginia folded her arms as well, looking away from him, fuming, her face a bright shade of crimson.

Gallows and Clive exchanged glances in the awkward silence that ensued. "Ahem." Clive finally spoke up, clearing his throat as he adjusted his shirt collar. "Gallows, I noticed you said we were to 'help defeat this threat'. Does that imply that we won't be doing this alone?" He asked.

"Uhhhhh… maybe." Gallows said as he winced sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Well, what exactly did the Guardians tell you?" Virginia asked, turning to face him.

"Well to be honest, I don't remember any details. Just the part 'bout gathering the team, heading to Infinitum and going to another Filgaia to fight some huge deal."

"Naturally…" Virginia said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey don't go blamin' me for it." Gallows said as he held his hands up in protest. "That dream was confusing as hell to figure out."

"Either way." Clive interjected, trying to keep the discussion on track. "We know what our first objective is. Let us be on our way so that we can complete it as timely as possible."

"Clive, are you sure that all of this is okay with you?" Virginia asked him.

Clive nodded, "If it means protecting my family and keeping them safe, then I have no choice but to oblige."

Jet turned back around to face the rest of the group, "Wait, so he get's a choice, and I don't?" he said, in wide eyed frustration.

"Well, to be fair, he has a family and you don't." Gallows said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Jet rolled his eyes, cursing incoherently under his breath as he crossed his arms and looked away again.

"It does not matter, it is settled and we are all going." Virginia said authoritatively, ending the discussion for good as she stood up. "Well then, the three of us will wait outside and call Lombardia, while you get prepared and say your goodbyes." Virginia turned around and walked towards the door to Clive's house, stopping to gather up her suitcase before opening it and stepping outside.

"Thank you." Clive said as he and the others stood up as well. Jet and Gallows followed after Virginia as Clive walked over to Kaitlyn's room. He quietly opened the door and looked in. He stood in the doorway silently watching them play for a few moments, his eyes softening as he did.

Catherine noticed him standing there and looked over at her oldest daughter, "Kaitlyn can you play with your little sister for a moment while your father and I talk?" she asked as she stood up.

"Okay." The girl replied as she poured her baby sister another cup of imaginary tea.

Catherine joined her husband just outside the door. She quietly closed it, leaving it cracked open just enough so that they could still hear the girls inside as they talked. She straightened herself up as she turned to face him, "So, you have to leave for a mission?" She asked.

"I do." Clive frowned. "I'm sorry."

"I can tell by the look on your face that this one is really important. Look, you go and do what you have to. I can hold down things here just fine. I don't want you worrying about us _and_ yourself the whole time."

Clive put his arms around his wife and pulled her close, "You and the girls are the best thing that have ever happened to me. You know that, right?" he whispered to her as he held her tight.

"I know." She responded quietly, fighting hard to keep her composure. "Do you know how long this time." Even after having gone through this routine for several years now, saying goodbye never did get any easier. Especially after she had gotten so used to having him home so much over the last year.

"No, unfortunately. But hopefully not too long." He answered her.

Catherine nodded, "We'll be alright. The girls and I will pray for you and look forward to your, and everyone's safe return." She assured him.

After packing his gear and changing in to his traveling clothes, Clive said goodbye to his family, before joining the others outside where they were waiting for him, along with Lombardia. Catherine and the girls waved goodbye as the team boarded their giant biomechanical dragon and quickly took off in to the blue sky above. Clive sat quietly, watching his home and town grow smaller and smaller in the distance as Virginia flew them towards the Midland region. It was an awkwardly quiet flight, with Clive feeling distraught over leaving his family, and Jet and Virginia silently brooding at one another. Gallows made a few futile attempts in conversation to lighten the mood, before finally giving up and relegating himself to watching the sea of dunes churn beneath them as they soared over.


	3. Chapter 3: New Friends Meet

**Authors Note: Things are set in motion as our two favorite teams finally meet. What will they think of each other? Will they all get along? Will Hanpan ever get his comeuppance for being such a shamelessly lovable asshole? Only time will tell. :)**

* * *

The Crimson red Gullwing flew through the near cloudless sky, high above the vast, dark blue depths of the Outer Ocean. Beneath it, the waves looked like small ripples shimmering in the sunlight, distorting the shadow of the aircraft as it glided overhead. In the cockpit Rudy was piloting them towards Baskar, Cecilia sat in the seat next to his. Jack stood behind them. Hanpan perched on the control panel as Cecilia filled the three of them in with the details she received from the Guardians earlier that morning.

Jack screwed up his face in disbelief once she was done talking. "So let me make sure I heard this right. The Guardians are actually going to be sending us some sort of _allies_ from another time plane?"

Cecilia nodded. "That's the way I heard it."

Hanpan scratched behind his ear as he momentarily pondered the thought. "Huh, that's really interesting. I wonder who they could be?"

Jack shrugged. "Well, only a little while longer until we reach Perpetual Engine, and then we get to find out."

"Supposedly they also have experience with fighting demons. I am wondering what that is all about?" Cecilia asked, rhetorically.

"Hmmm." Hanpan hummed as he raked a paw through his whiskers. "Perhaps it could mean that the demons have made their way to Filgaia across several different existences. I guess it is safe to say that our Filgaia can't possibly be the only one to experienced their malice. Furthermore, the theory of the existences of meta-universes is hardly anything new. It was once a widely held belief amongst Human and Elw philosophers alike. Especially before the times of the Great War and when the Guardians' powers were still strong. I guess that knowledge is just one of many which faded away with time.

"Eh, Who knows?" Jack said as he waved his hand in the air dismissively. "All of this is just going over my head, anyway-"

"And it is precisely _that_ kind of thinking which led to the dumbing down of the human race, and the loss of knowledge and technology." Hanpan scoffed impudently as he interrupted him.

Jack glared over at Hanpan before continuing. "Look, if the Guardians picked them, and they are able to help us defeat… _whatever_ it is we are after, then that works for me and is all I need to know. I don't really care about any… whatever-universes." Jack said as he folded his arms as he turned away, leaning his back against the riveted metal wall of the cockpit. "Hey Rudy, you still awake over there? You've been awfully quiet this whole time." Jack said, looking over towards him.

"Mmmhmm." Rudy nodded in response. "Just tying to concentrate."

* * *

Virginia landed Lombardia in front of Infinitum. The large, brown stone tower rose sharply from the dusty, sandstone peninsula it was erected upon. Around them the sea of sand churned, crashing nosily against the shores that surrounded them.

"Wow, this place really stirs up some memories." She said, looking around as she stepped off the dragon, followed closely by her comrades.

"I know, right?" Gallows said, stepping up behind her. "I still can't believe that I was able to use this place to kick that ol' hunk-o-junk golem back into the past… for all the good it ended up doing us. Seeing as how the darn thing came back."

"Don't slight yourself. It was quite the impressive feat to behold." Clive said as he was the last to exit Lombardia.

Virginia turned and faced her team. "Well, I guess this is it. Are we all sure that we have everything? There may not be any coming back anytime soon." She said as her eyes scanned across all three of them.

The three men silently nodded back in unison.

"Sooo now what do we do then?" Gallows asked.

"My guess would be, go inside." Jet responded sarcastically with an eyeroll.

"I mean after that!" Gallows scowled at him. "Mouthy punk…" He grumbled under his breath.

Clive stepped up in between the two, blocking off their view from one another. "I suggest we proceed to the very back of the temple. In the sanctuary of Dan Dairam, where the Guardian's energy is strongest."

"That's what I was thinking too." Virginia agreed with him. She picked up her suitcase and proceeded into the tower, the others following suit.

The tireless gears that ran throughout the structure churned nosily as the group made their way through, quickly traversing all the way to the very end of the temple. As they passed the giant gyroscopic chock, just before the Guardian's chamber, they heard a twinkling sound over the loud grinding of the chock, coming from within.

"Seems like there really is something' waitin' for us here." Gallows spoke up as they approached.

Inside the room, hovering a few feet in the air before the large, engraved stone tablet signifying Dan Dairam, was a shimmering white orb about the size of a child's rubber ball. Simultaneously they all felt a pulse from their Ark Scepters. A voice spoke directly into each members mind, instructing them to place their hands on the orb all at once.

Gallows raised his chin towards the floating light. "Well, you heard the Guardian. Shall we?"

"Yeah let's get this over with already." Jet said as he began walking towards it.

'Ready, Clive?" Virginia looked over towards the Sniper, who was eyeing it skeptically.

He let out a deep, wary breath. "…Yes." Came his response. They followed Gallows and Jet towards the orb. Each one of them taking a spot around it, holding out a hand over it.

* * *

"Looks like there is something waiting here for us after all." Jack said as they walked into Perpetual Engine. Situated in the middle of the room, surrounded by the twelve time pillars, was a shimmering white orb, hovering a few feet above the ground.

"What, did you actually have any doubts about it?" Hanpan asked from his shoulder.

"I don't know." Jack shrugged. "I never know what to expect anymore. For all we know, the Princess ate too much chocolate cake before bed and had a really vivid dream which led us all on a wild goose chase."

Cecilia stopped abruptly in her tracks, her mouth agape. "Excuse me?!" She asked, angrily placing her hands on her hips. "Why would you even think something like that? I would like to believe that you have more faith than that in my powers by now!"

"Calm down Princess, it was just a joke." Jack said teasingly as he patted her on the head. "Of course I have faith in your Guardian powers. I wouldn't be standing here right now if I didn't."

Rudy shook his head, laughing quietly into his hand.

Cecilia narrowed here eyes as she looked over at him. "Ugh, you too?"

"I'm sorry. It was funny, okay?" He apologized to her.

"Anyway, the Guardians are telling me that we all need to place our hands on that light at the exact same time." She instructed them as she approached it.

"Alright then, after you Princess." Jack said as he and Rudy joined her at the light.

"Why do I go first? They said we are all supposed do it at the same time!" Cecilia said as she furrowed her eyebrows at Jack.

"One!" Rudy interrupted them as he began counting off, holding his right hand over the light. Cecilia and Jack immediately held their hands over it as well. The light began to pulse, as if it had its own heartbeat.

.

.

.

"Two!" Virginia counted, her eyes shifting from Jet, to Clive, to Gallows. The pulsating of the orb grew faster. Dust began to kick up from between the cracks and crevices in the stone floor and swirl around them.

.

.

.

"Three!" Seven voices shouted in unison as they each placed a hand on their respective orb. Immediately, the world around them dissolved into a blinding bright light as they felt the ground drop out from under them. Their bodies all felt as though they were sand being sucked through the narrow opening of an hour glass as the sound of air rushed by them. Suddenly everything came to an abrupt stop as they all felt themselves land on their feet in darkness. Everyone swiveled and swerved, catching their collective balances.

They all glanced around, trying to catch their bearings. The two different groups briefly taking notice of each others presence. However, before anyone could react, the sound of approaching heavy footsteps echoing through the darkness caught their attention. A light in the distance drew closer as the footsteps neared them. Closer and closer it came, raising everyone's anticipation.

They could now see that the light was coming from the body of a tall, steel grey anthropomorphic cat. He had large ears and a mask of white fur on the lower half of his face, forming large tufts at his cheeks. His appearance was rather aristocratic, wearing a burgundy overcoat, with a black lapel and collar adorned with gold studs. His coat was trimmed with royal blue cuffs on the sleeves as well as a matching cummerbund. He wore cream colored pants, also with the same royal blue cuffs at the ankles. A golden sash across his chest fastened a flowing, cream colored cape to his overcoat. Dark brown boots and white gloves completed his look.

"Dan Dairam…" Cecilia whispered aloud to herself.

Without saying a word, the Guardian stopped in front of everyone and held out his right hand. In his palm, a small hourglass materialized. With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the hourglass up into the air, over his head. It spun several times, growing larger with each rotation until it was the size of a stool. It fell down to the ground in front of the Guardian's feet, landing with a loud, unsettling clatter. Dan Dairam then flung his right hand out to his side, gathering his cape into it. With a turn on his left toe, he spun around quickly, leaping high into the air, his cape wrapping around him. He stopped spinning over the hourglass, and with a gentle elegance, floated down, sitting himself upon it. He crossed his right knee over his left one and delicately folded his hands in his lap. He looked up, finally addressing the group before him. "Greetings, shamans and warriors alike." He spoke in a regal, refined tone.

"Right…" Jack trailed off, cocking his eyebrows at Dan Dairam's over the top display. "So, what is the meaning behind all of this?"

"Once more, the Metal Demons pose a serious threat to all existence on Filgaia." The Guardian began to explain. "However, this time a powerful Elw artifact has fallen into their possession, that if misused, can rip apart the very fabric of space time." Behind him, the image of a small fortress nestled deep within a cluster of mountains appeared, as if being projected out of thin air.

Dan Dairam continued his speech. "We have brought the seven of you across the dimension, together as one, in order to defeat the demon threat once and for all. However, your team is not yet complete. Upon the more recent restoration of our powers, we have discovered the existence of a forgotten soul. A bond wrongfully severed long ago." As he spoke, the projection of the mountains faded away to show the silhouette of a young woman, standing in a side on view, facing away from them. Her long hair, which was tied into a high pony tail, swayed gently behind her as if it were blowing in the wind. "Find her to complete your team, and restore that bond. For she possesses great knowledge and the power to aid you on your quest." Her image faded way to show an archipelago of small islands surrounded by peninsulas. "Your journey begins here. Only by overcoming obstacles together will you accomplish your mission. Make haste shamans and warriors."

Dan Dairum stood up and took a step back, holding up his hands before him, palms facing towards one another. The large hourglass illuminated with a warm light as it began to levitate off the ground. He quickly separated his hands, causing the hourglass to burst. The sound of shattering glass rang through the air as sand exploded from it. The sand violently swirled around them like a giant whirlwind, obscuring everyone's vision as they shielded their eyes. The air rushed past, making whipping noises in their ears as once again they felt as if their bodies were being pulled through the opening of an hourglass. All seven of them made a collective "Oof" as they suddenly made contact with the cold, stone floor within the circle of pillars inside The Perpetual Engine.

"Gee, thanks for the landing, Guardian." Jack griped as he stood up, rubbing the sore spot where he landed on his hip.

"Yeah no kidding." Gallows replied as he pushed himself off of his stomach to his knees. He glanced up at Jack and the others, making a noise as he inhaled sharply, freezing in place as he realized that it was not one of his team mates he responded to. "Uhhhh… hi… there." He said, awkwardly.

Jack exchanged glances with his two companions as Rudy helped Cecilia to her feet.

"Umm… Hello." Cecilia said, turning towards Virginia's group and greeting them with a bow, hands clasped in front of her.

"H-hi…" Virginia grinned back nervously, as the rest of her team gathered around her. "We are the help sent by the Guardians. A-hah heh heh."

"Okay, this is awkward." Hanpan said as he jumped from the floor up on to Jack's shoulder.

Perplexed, Jet looked over at Clive. "Yo, am I goin' crazy, or did that rat just talk?" He asked him, motioning towards Hanpan with his thumb.

"Rat?!" Hanpan snorted indignantly at Jet's insult. "Excuse me, but I happen to be a wind mouse thank you very much." He huffed as he crossed his arms.

Jet shifted uncomfortably as he was taken aback. "Oh… sheesh, sorry."

"Way to make a good first impression, Jet." Gallows hissed at him.

Virginia whipped around, shooting the both of them a sharp glare. She puffed out her cheeks, blowing a lock of her chestnut brown hair out of her face as she slowly turned back to face their new companions. "Sorry, don't mind them." She said as she laced her fingers together under her chin. "Let's try this again. Hi, I am Virginia Maxwell, and this here is my team." She unclasped her hands and gestured toward the three men standing around her.

"Clive Winslett. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said with a cordial nod.

"Hi, I'm Gallows Carradine. A humble Baskar at your service." Gallows announced as he thumped his right fist over his heart.

"…Jet…" Jet said, flatly.

"Not going to be polite and tell them your last name?" Virginia asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Why? Does it even matter?"

Annoyed, Virginia rolled her eyes as she faced back toward the other group. "This is Jet Enduro." She motioned towards him. Her doing so caused Jet to fold his arms and look away as he grumbled inaudibly under his breath.

"Well Rudy, you're our leader. Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Jack said as he clasped his hand on Rudy's shoulder, urging him on.

"Wait, what?" Rudy said, stunned, as he turned to face Jack. "I'm the leader? Since when?"

"I've always looked up to you as our leader. You have far more experience with fighting and being a wanderer than I do." Cecilia nodded.

"And lets be honest, would anyone really want Jack calling the shots?" Hanpan added in.

"So, see? You're the leader." Jack said with a toothy grin as he gave Rudy a thumbs up.

"Alright, fine." Rudy acquiesced. He approached Virginia and offered her a handshake. "I'm Rudy Roughnight. Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Virginia said with a smile as she shook his hand.

Cecilia stepped up beside Rudy. "Hello, my name is Cecilia Adlehyde. Welcome all of you to our Filgaia." She said warmly with a cordial bow.

"Name's Jack Van Burace and the 'wind mouse' here is Hanpan." Jack said, thumbing towards Hanpan.

Clive cleared his throat as he stepped up next to Virginia. "Now that introductions have been properly established, what do you propose as our next order of business?" He asked them.

"Hmmm." Virginia put her right forefinger to her lips as she thought. "The Guardian did show us a couple of important locations. I think we should identify and mark them on a map first while they are still fresh in our minds."

"That sounds like a good idea to me." Jack agreed. 'Hey Rudy, you have our map, right?"

"Ummmm…" Rudy grimaced, rubbing nervously at the back of his head. "About that. We ran clean out of supplies on the excavation of Professor Emma's that I just got back from. So, I had to use it to start a campfire last night."

Jack's jaw dropped as she feigned disappointment. "Ugh seriously? You torched our map?!"

"I didn't have a choice! It was really cold…"

"Ugh, so irresponsible…" Jack teased him.

"Jack, get over yourself." Hanpan chided him. "I have seen you do the exact same thing at least three, if not four different times."

Jack laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, try more like… ten times. At one point I started carrying an extra map, before I realized it would just be cheaper to carry extra paper."

"You're incorrigible." Hanpan sighed, shaking his head.

"Well if you've done it so many times, then why is it such a big deal for Rudy then?" Cecilia asked him.

"That was _our_ map. It had all of our memories from our travels together on it. It was special… Ah ok, I can see that I am not fooling anyone. Come on, I have not seen this guy in forever." Jack said as he slung an arm over Rudy's shoulders, who in turn shot him an annoyed look. "I have to give him a hard time while I still can before he goes and becomes an adult, or figures out that he could probably take me on in a fight."

"I am pretty sure he has long since figured that out, and is just nice enough not to." Hanpan said.

Virginia leaned over to Clive and whispered to him out of the side of her mouth. "Dear Guardians, they are as bad as Jet and Gallows…" Clive gave a deadpan nod in response. Virginia cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. "Sorry, not to be rude, but do you think we could continue, please?"

"Yeah, sure." Rudy said as he freed himself from Jack. "It's going to be getting dark soon and we need to get to Baskar anyway while we still have enough light to fly with. Once we are there I will buy us a new map and we can go from there. Okay?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Virginia's team gathered up their supplies from the floor and together they left the temple.

'Wow… that thing actually flies? In the air?" Gallows asked in disbelief as his eyes scanned over the Gullwing.

"Usually." Jack responded as he opened the door. "So far it has a pretty good track record of not falling out of the sky." He continued as they all filed into the Gullwing.

"So, you said we were heading to Baskar?" Virginia asked. Cecilia nodded. "Hey Gallows? Did you hear that? There is a Baskar here."

"Heh, yeah. Another Baskar. That is going to be uh… interestin'… to say the least." He laughed nervously.

"Oh right. You did say you were from Baskar. The Guardian inferred that there was more than one shaman among us. Might that be you then?" Hanpan asked him.

"Ummm I suppose you could say that-" Gallows said.

"This is absolutely astounding!" Clive interrupted as he glanced around the inside of the Gullwing with wide eyed awe. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Neither have we, until this one came around." Jack grinned.

"Indeed. We have the only one in all of Filgaia. Though Rudy says that Professor Emma is working on another one as we speak." Cecilia said.

"No kidding? Another one?" Jack asked, looking towards Rudy.

Rudy nodded. "She still has a ways to go yet. But right now she has been doing experiments on some high density energy crystals. They are proving to be quite potent… but they quickly become unstable if they come into contact with one another. One of her workers accidentally combined them a few months back and nearly blew up the mine we were working in."

"Hey Virginia, bet that sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Jet asked her with a cocky smirk. Behind him Gallows snickered under his breath.

Dejected, Virginia's shoulders slumped as she tilted her head down, looking at the floor. "Yeah, yeah… guess I am never living that one down, huh?"

"Rudy, did the minerals in question happen to be called Agualite and Germatron?" Clive asked him.

"Yeah. How did you guess?" He asked him, surprised.

"We've had… a small run in of our own with the two before." Clive answered.

Gallows let out a hardy laugh. "If by 'small run in', you mean Virginia nearly blowing the mine right off the side of a mountain!" He said.

Virginia bit her lip as she balled up her fist angrily. "Can we just stop talking about it now?"

"We really should be on our way to Baskar." Cecilia pointed out. "I sure hope the Chief does not mind us bringing such a large crowd on short notice like this."

"I'm sure it will be fine Princess. You know that they will always accommodate us." Jack said as he followed Rudy to the cockpit.

It was a relatively short flight from Perpetual Engine to Baskar. Absolutely fascinated with the Gullwing, Clive wandered up to the cockpit with Rudy, Jack and Hanpan, while the others sat around, chatting with each other. After about 10 minutes they landed outside of Baskar. The Chief, and a couple of tribe elders were there to greet them as they walked the short distance from the Gullwing to the village entrance.

The Chief held out his arms to them in a welcoming gesture as they approached. "Greetings, Shamans and warriors from both our Filgaia and the next. The Guardians have informed me of your arrival and we are honored to have you spend the night as our guests." He said warmly.

"Gotta love that Baskar dream vision." Gallows said with a wink and a thumbs up."

"We have a guest hut all prepared for you. Unfortunately we only had five cots to spare, but we have left some extra blankets in case there is a need. Please feel free to go and drop off your belongings and relax. My wife shall have dinner done within the hour." He said with a bow to them.

"Thank you very much Chief." Cecilia returned his bow. "We are very grateful for your hospitality."

"Yes thank you very much for allowing us to stay." Virginia added in.

"Is there anything we can do to help in the meantime?" Clive asked.

As their conversation continued in the background, Rudy tapped Cecilia on the shoulder. "I am going to see if anyone has a map they can sell." He said.

"Would you like some company?" Cecilia asked him.

"Sure, if you want to."

"We are going to go and find a new map." Cecilia cut in and said the others before she and Rudy headed off.

After some insistence that they were guests for the evening, the Chief led them over to their lodging for the night. "Please make yourselves at home. One of my children will be by shortly when dinner is ready." He bowed to them before he turned and left.

The small hut was rather crowded, but it would suffice for one night. A stone fire place was built into the clay wall at the far end. Two cots sat against the wall on the side with the door. Three more cots lined the opposite wall, leaving a small strip of walking space down the middle. In the corner across from the door was a small, round wooden table with three stools around it.

"Dream vision, welcoming hospitality, simplistic digs. So far this feels a lot like home to me." Gallows said as he glanced around the hut.

"I am curious as to how many similarities can be drawn between our Filgaia and this one." Clive mused as he adjusted his glasses. "Though I must admit, part of me does still feel like tomorrow I am going to wake up in my own bed, and this was all some sort of dream."

"Same here." Virginia added in. "It still feels so surreal. One minute the four of us were standing in Infinitum, and the next, we are someplace else completely different."

"Right now the biggest thing I am curious about is one very obvious difference. I could not help but notice right away that all four of you are carrying ARMs. Are they common in your world?" Hanpan asked them.

"Yes and no." Clive answered with a slight shrug. "Not everyone can or does use ARM weapons in our time. But their use is somewhat prevalent, albeit the ability to control one is still considered a rarer trait. And the degree to which one can be handled varies greatly from person to person. Even within our own group.

"Wow. That is way different from us, right Hanpan?" Jack said.

"Indeed. Here ARM use is exceedingly rare, in fact it is actually considered taboo still in some areas. Rudy is the only one out of us who can use ARM, but well… let's just say his ability is a unique case and leave it at that. We also know one other girl who uses ARM as well. But nowhere near the degree that Rudy can." Hanpan explained.

"Humph." Jet grunted as he folded his arms and turned away.

"Got a problem?" Gallows asked him, looking in the silver haired teens direction.

"Whatever… I am going outside. It's… too crowded in here right now." Jet said, tersely as he turned and headed to the door. Once he was outside he walked to the far end of the hut and turned the corner, stopping there to lean against the wall. He folded his arms and crossed one ankle over the other. He closed his eyes and began to mentally count to himself. _5...4...3...2..._ As soon as he got to one he heard footsteps coming his way. He shifted his eyes to his right, and sure enough, saw a head of familiar chestnut brown hair poke around the corner.

"Jet? Is everything okay?" Virginia asked.

"Right on time as always." Jet grumbled.

"Huh?" Virginia said, cocking her eyebrow at him.

"Nevermind." He snapped. "Something just has me feeling really on edge about Rudy. It's like something about him is making my whole body feel… antsy."

Virginia tilted her head to the side as a very confused look crossed her face. "Jet… where exactly are you going with this?"

"Ugh, how do I even begin to explain it?" He groaned, rubbing his fingers in his eyes. "It's almost like… back when we fought that demon Siegfried. It is the same sort of feeling I got whenever he was near. It made my whole body feel jittery. It is not nearly as strong this time, but it is still there and it is bothering me."

"Huh. Well I don't notice anything strange from him or anyone else here for that matter." She said, trying to do her best to sound reassuring.

"I dunno… I am just not sure about this entire situation. I don't like it one single bit."

Virginia turned and leaned against the wall next to him. "I feel really nervous about the whole thing too. I think we all do. But lets just all try to work together for now and see where things go."

"Yeah, yeah. You know I will. Doesn't mean I have to like it though." Jet sighed. An awkwardly long silence fell between the two as they both stared off in different directions.

Virginia finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "Hey Jet, since I have you here there is one more thing I wanted to say." She said, glancing over at him. Jet looked at her, his eyes meeting hers. Virginia continued, "I am sorry if you feel like I was trying to deceive you earlier. I really was just trying to simplify things so that everyone got all of the details at once. To be honest, I thought you were going to be easier to get on board than Clive. Heh…Guess I was wrong."

Jet twitched the corner of his lips into a small smirk. "Virginia, don't you know by now that I never make anything easy?"

"Yeah I guess I should know that by now, huh." She said, sounding less than amused at his comment. She pushed herself away from the wall and stretched her hands over her head, straitening the bodice of her dress as she brought her arms back down. "Anyway, maybe we should get back to the others.? We should be eating and going over a map soon. And I just realized I have not eaten all day."

Jet pushed himself off the wall as well. "Fine. Sure." He said as he straightened himself.

Virginia looked over at him as the pair started walking back around the hut. "Oh and about your concerns just now. Try not to let it get to you too much. Everyone here seems perfectly nice and I don't sense any reason to be suspicious about anyone. And you know I am usually a pretty good judge of character-"

"Really? Since when?" Jet cut in, cocking his eyebrows at her in disbelief.

"Uh, since always."

Jet rolled his eyes. "No you're not."

Virginia scowled at him, "Whatever! You know I am."

"Not even close."

'Really? Name one time." She pressed.

"Janus." Jet answered bluntly. You were _very_ wrong about Janus."

"Hey! In the end I still feel like he was not a bad guy and didn't really want to hurt anyone-"

"Really? Because I seem to recall him trying to kill us at least a half dozen times." Jet said pointedly.

As they neared the door to the hut, they came across Cecilia and Rudy approaching from the opposite direction, both of them laughing. Cecilia looked up and saw Virginia and Jet walking towards them. "Oh, hello you two." She greeted them as they all met in front of the door.

"Hi there." Virginia replied. "What's so funny?" She asked them.

Cecilia took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "Well, somebody," She glanced over at Rudy as she spoke, "accidentally led us to the wrong hut… and I am reasonably sure we interrupted something we shouldn't have."

Virginia put her fingers over her lips, "Oh my…"

"I didn't mean to… these huts all look exactly alike." Rudy protested as he scratched at the back of his head.

"Do we at least have a map now?" Jet practically snapped at Rudy, earning himself a reprimanding glare from Virginia.

Rudy momentarily cocked his eyebrows at Jet's sudden hostility, before brushing it off. He nodded as he held up a neatly folded piece of parchment. "Yes. Brand new and everything."

"Perfect!" Virginia said with a grin, "Let's get inside with the others and get those locations marked."

As the four of them entered the hut; Jack, Clive and Gallows were sitting around the small table, talking. Gallows looked over at them as they filed into the room. "Uh oh, the kids are back. Looks like the grown up talk is all over for now." He said sarcastically.

"I don't even wanna know." Jet groaned as he shook his head.

"Neither do I." Virginia agreed.

'Do we have a new map?" Jack asked. Rudy nodded as he walked towards the table, unfolding the map and setting it down, smoothing it out before everyone. Cecilia, Jet and Virginia gathered around.

Gallows frowned, "Yup, this is definitely not our Filgaia."

"What? Did you actually expect them to look the same?" Jet asked him.

Gallows shrugged, "Yeah, kinda."

"Perhaps this would be easier if there weren't seven of us all trying to read the same map." Hanpan spoke up, "Maybe only anyone who is certain they remember the locations we were shown should handle this." He glanced over in Jack's direction.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Jack scoffed at him.

"Because I know you."

"I happen to remember it thank you! The mountain place was…Hmmm..." Jack said as he put his left hand over his chin as he ran his right finger over the map. "I think it was in these mountains here… or was it…?" He asked out loud as he pointed to the mountains near Adlehyde.

"It was down here." Clive spoke up as he pointed to a stretch of mountains in the South West corner of the map. "On this island in the area between these two forests."

"I was thinking the same thing." Hanpan agreed. "Anyone have a pen?"

"I do." Clive said as he reached inside the breast of his red trench coat, and removed a pen from the pocket. "Do we all agree that this looks like the spot we need?" He asked as he put the tip of the pen to the map.

The others nodded. Clive circled the area and wrote _"Objective location"_ next to it.

"Alright! Fine! I get the message." Jack huffed. He got up from his chair only to have Cecilia quickly move into his spot.

"I'm really no use here either, so I am going to let you guys handle it." Gallows said as he stood up and walked away from the table.

"None of this is making sense to me either. And I am usually good with maps." Virginia pouted as she took a few steps back.

"Something about the island location was familiar… I just can't put my finger on it." Cecilia said as she rubbed at her temple.

"Yo, is this it?" Jet asked as he pointed to a very minute cluster of islands situated within a small expanse of ocean between the Peninsula which hosted the city of Milama, the northern most tip of the Isle of Baskar, and the edge of the enormous desert outside of Ship Graveyard. "I remember it being surrounded by peninsulas and this is the only spot standing out to me."

Cecilia furrowed her brows. "Huh, that is right outside of Milama…" She paused mid sentence and gasped as she realized something. "Rudy! That is why it looked so familiar to me! We practically flew right over it this afternoon coming here."

"Hey, you're right!" He nodded as he realized it too.

"It says here that it is called… Ahnen… Erbe" Hanpan read off the map. Clive circled it and wrote down " _Recruit location."_

Rudy straightened up as he put his right hand on his chin, resting his elbow in his left palm in deep thought for a minute. "Hmmm… I don't know why, but something about that name sounds familiar."

"Have you been there before?" Cecilia asked him.

"I don't think so. But for some reason I feel like maybe I've heard about it, or read about it… or something."

Before anyone could say anything else, a knock was heard at the door. Jack got up from the cot he had sat down on, and opened it. One of the chiefs daughters stood on the other side. "Greetings warriors and shamans. My mother has sent me to inform you that supper is ready. Please follow me when you are ready." She said with a bow.

Everyone got up and left the hut. They followed the young woman through the village to the chiefs hut. She led them around to the back of the large stone and clay structure to where a large feast was all set up. Several woven straw mats were placed on the ground around long planks of wood, which were laden with plates of food. Aside from their group, the Chief, his wife and several of their children were joining them. As well as all of the other village elders and their spouses.

The chief stood up to welcome them to dinner. "I hope that you do not mind dining outside under the sunset this evening, since we are graced with such a large gathering for this meal."

"No not at all." Virginia answered.

As they all began to take their seats on woven reed mats, the chief pulled Gallows aside. "Brother priest from another time, I do hope that you will join me for this meal. I wish to know everything about the Baskar of your tribe."

"Oh umm… sure. I guess" Gallows replied reluctantly.

Jet leaned over to Virginia and Clive unable to hide his amusement. "Hey, do you think we should let that guy know that he is pumping a dry well?"

Virginia snorted quietly into her hand as Clive cleared his throat. Both of them trying not to laugh at Jet's comment. They all enjoyed a great meal along with the Baskars, which lasted until the sun set.

* * *

 **Authors Note 2.0: In case you have not noticed, I enjoy putting little Easter Eggs from the series in here, as well as poking fun at some of the nuances. Including how the original game really did not have any clearly defined main character, but in Alter Code, Rudy was the main character because the game said so. So I just had to take a jab at it. Besides, with a cast this big, you need to pick a central character or two to rotate the majority of the narrative around or else it becomes confusing. So I chose Rudy and Virginia, the respective "main characters".**

 **Authors Note 3.0: Hi reader, I see you there, sticking with things this far. I encourage you to tell me what you think. No need to have an account or anything, I have reviews open to guests. Like my writing style? Hate my writing style? Find sentences to be too wordy? Just want to cheer me on? Speak up! Say something. As an aspiring author, feedback is an invaluable way for me to help improve my skills. I can't know what my audience is thinking until they speak up and tell me. But I still appreciate you taking the time to read this all the same, even if you are choosing to remain mum so far.**


	4. Chapter 4: Baskar

**Authors note: Whew, sorry about the delay there. Anywho, this chapter is mostly exposition and setting up for things to come. ;) And some shenanigans in their overnight at Baskar. Enjoy :)**

* * *

After their meal and helping clean up (as much as the Baskars would allow them to), the group opted to head back to their hut and turn in for the night. As they sat around talking in the lantern lit hut, Gallows mentioned an interesting point that the chief had brought to his attention over dinner.

"So yeah, the chief thinks that 'cuz mediums work differently here than they do on our Filgaia, they may won't work for you guys here. Meaning I might be the only one out of us able to tap into the Guardians energy 'cuz of my natural spiritual connection." He explained to Virginia and the others.

"Awww that's a bummer," Virginia said as she pulled her three stone tablets out of her dress pocket, looking down at them. "I guess there is no sense in holding on to them while we are here then..."

"It is just a hypothesis for now though," Clive pointed out to her. "it would be unwise to turn over our powers just yet before we actually give it a proper test run. Perhaps we should attempt to use our arcana at some point tomorrow and see if it holds true."

"Good point," She nodded.

Jack cleared his throat, "Speaking of test runs, since we are going to be working together and likely fighting a lot, we should probably start devising some sort of battle strategy- before we get attacked. If the past is any indicator, the demons may already be on to us and we should be prepared for an attack at any time."

"That's true," Cecilia nodded. "It would be helpful to know each others strengths and weaknesses well beforehand."

"Don't forget though, we still have one more member to add, and have no idea what they might be bringing to the table. But I do agree, we should figure out how to best cover ourselves, just in case." Hanpan said.

Virginia drummed her finger against her cheek, "Well," She began to explain., "like we talked about before, all four of us are ARM users. And on our Filgaia we all had the ability to use arcana- our form of magic, and summon the Guardians. But I guess things might just be different here now..." She pursed her lips, cocking them sideways as she looked disappointedly down at the mediums still in her right hand.

Rudy's jaw dropped as his eyes widened in disbelief, "Wait… all four of you can use ARM?!" He asked her.

"Oh right! You weren't here when we talked about it earlier!" Hanpan piped up. "As it turns out, ARM use is much more common on their Filgaia than it is here. But seriously Rudy, how did _you_ of all people miss the fact that all four of them were carrying ARM when we met?" To which Rudy simply shrugged in response, "Ugh, I swear, you really are just as bad as Jack sometimes." Hanpan sighed as she shook his head at Rudy, crossing his arms.

Virginia cleared her throat to bring the conversation back on point, "How about tomorrow our group does a trial run to see if our arcana still works here? After that, we can discuss battle strategy as we prepare to meet up with our final team member." She suggested to the group who all nodded in agreement. "Great! In the meantime, I am beat and ready for bed. So I guess we should figure out sleeping arrangements then." She said as she began looking around.

"You all can go ahead and take the beds." Rudy was the first to volunteer. "I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"What the hell… I guess I'll take the floor too." Jack said reluctantly with a shrug.

Clive adjusted his glasses, "Are you two certain?" He asked them, "It really makes no difference to us either way."

"Eh, it's no problem," Jack said, "even I am not that rude as to make our guests sleep on the ground their first night here."

Rudy stood up from the cot he was sitting on and stretched his arms over his head. "Alright then. I am going to head on over to the Gullwing and grab a couple of bed rolls." He paused as he realized something, "Come to think of it, I should probably make sure it is locked up for the night as well." He mumbled to himself.

"You know what, I'll come along with you." Jack offered as he pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning against. "Does anyone else need anything while we are there?" He asked, glancing around the room at everyone.

"Oh!" Virginia perked up, "Could you bring me my suitcase please? I forgot to grab my nightly things that I need before bed." She asked as she folded her hands under her chin, smiling at him pleadingly.

"Oh, mine too please!" Cecilia added in. "Thank you for reminding me, Virginia. I forgot my toiletry bag as well."

"Sheesh, women!" Jack griped as he stretched. He walked over and joined Rudy at the door. "Alright then, we'll be back." He said as they left the hut. Together they stepped out into the cool, velvety night air. The whole colony was quiet as the tribe folk went about preparing themselves for bed as well. "Man, some day it's been, huh?" Jack asked Rudy as they walked across the village toward the entrance. "I mean, when you and the Princess showed up at the pub this afternoon, I kind of immediately figured something big must have been going on. But I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined that this is how my night would be ending." Jack continued as they passed the wind worn sandstone pillars that bordered the village. "So, what do you think of our new allies so far?"

"They seem fine to me." Rudy shrugged. "We haven't seen what they are capable of yet. But if the Guardians sent them, then I am willing to put my faith in them."

"You put your faith in others way too easily regardless. But yeah I do agree. If they were hand picked by the Guardians, then I am really curious to see how all of this is going to pan out once we have to start working as a team."

"I will admit though, I kind of get the feeling that Jet doesn't seem to care for me all too much. For some reason." Rudy said as the corner of his mouth twitched into a frown.

"I get the feeling he does not like anyone or anything very much."

"I've noticed that too. But it seems to be something about me, specifically. And given my numerous past experiences with being the perpetual outcast, I am quick to pick up on when someone wants nothing to do with me."

"Eh whatever. If he gives you any crap, just deck him. Isn't that how you young guys are supposed to solve your disagreements? I mean, that's how I rolled when I was around your age."

Rudy gave Jack a sidelong glare as they approached the Gullwing, "You know I don't solve my problems with my fists." He stated matter of factly.

"Oh right, you prefer just to bottle everything up inside and not deal with it." Jack teased him, looking smug.

Rudy rolled his eyes as he reached for the metal door handle. Mostly because he knew full well that Jack was not _entirely_ wrong in pointing that out. "Oh hey, I did remember to lock it this time." He changed the subject as he dug for the key in his back pocket.

Once they were inside, Rudy opened up one of the storage compartments to retrieve a couple of bedrolls as Jack rummaged through the large pile of gear looking for Cecilia and Virginia's bags. After he located and pulled them out, he turned towards Rudy, who was straightening up, with his back towards Jack. Jack chose this as a good opportunity to ask Rudy something he had been pondering the whole afternoon, "Hey man. Now that we've got a second, I seriously have got to ask you- when are you finally going to gather up the nerve and tell her how you really feel?"

Rudy immediately tensed up, nearly dropping the bedroll he was holding. "What do you mean?" He asked, continuing to stand with his back towards Jack.

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? You and the Princess! Look, I may be dense, but even I can see that you two have had a thing for each other for quite a while now. Don't you think it is about time you do something about it?"

Rudy stood motionless. Jack saw the teens shoulders slump forward slightly as Rudy sighed heavily, looking down at the bedroll in his hands. "I already have, Jack," He said quietly, "twice." He then bent down and picked up a second bedroll before turning and quickly walking past Jack.

Jack couldn't help but notice the pained look on Rudy's face that he was trying to hide as he passed him. "Aw shit, pretty sure I hit a nerve there…" Jack mumbled to himself as he rubbed at his chin.

"Are you coming?" Rudy asked as he peered back at Jack from the door of the airship.

"Huh?" Jack snapped out of this thought process. "Oh… yeah," He said as he bent over and picked up the two suitcases, then exited the gullwing. He shifted uncomfortably as he stood and watched Rudy lock up the door and pocket the keys. Rudy picked up the bedrolls from the ground before the two turned around and began their short trek back to Baskar. Several moments of tense awkward silence passed by as they walked together. "Hey look…" Jack began, breaking the silence, "I'm sorry-"

"Don't worry about it." Rudy abruptly cut him off. "I am pretty sure I already know what you are thinking, and… it's ok. I…" He sighed, "I don't mind just being her friend."

"Oh? Is that so?" Jack replied, looking over at him skeptically, "and just who are you trying to convince here? Me, or you? Because you don't sound too convinced of it yourself."

Rudy's feet froze in place. He turned his head, looking away from Jack, "What other choice do I have? You can't force someone to have feelings for you. We all know that."

"Rudy, that is complete bullshit if you honestly think she has no feelings for you!"

Rudy shook his head, "It doesn't matter what I think, or maybe already know, even. What does matter is that she said no. She has her reasons and I respect that."

"Now wait just a damn moment here!" Jack nearly shouted as he set the suitcases down on the ground. "What exactly do you mean by 'already know'? If you already know that she has feelings for you, why would she say no in the first place? I just don't get it!"

"I…" Rudy stammered. "I didn't want to push the issue."

"So you did not even bother to ask why? Don't you think you deserve at least some explanation? Argh! This is exactly what I meant when I said earlier that rather than confronting your problems, you just bottle them up inside and keep them to yourself! Completely disregarding how much it hurts you in the process!" Jack said, exasperated.

At this point Rudy was starting to become irritated with Jack. "Look, the last thing I would ever want to do is lose her trust by being pushy. I would rather have her in my life as a friend, than not at all. So I am leaving it be."

"Whatever! I disagree, but you are a grown man now. You can do whatever the hell you want. But coming from someone who once lost the woman he cared about the most before it ever got the chance to really become anything- I can't even begin to tell you what a swift kick to the balls that feels like. So go ahead and sit on the sidelines and do nothing. But whatever happens between you two, just be sure you are ready to make peace with it. Because not everyone gets a second chance like I did."

Before Rudy could respond, a female voice called out to them, grabbing their attention. The two of them turned towards the direction it came from and saw Cecilia approaching.

"It sure is taking you guys a long time. Is everything alright?" She asked, walking towards them.

"Yeah, fine," Jack responded curtly as he picked up the suitcases, "We weren't taking that long though. You need to learn to be more patient, Princess." he said as he brushed past her, leaving Rudy behind.

Cecilia scoffed, shaking her head at his criticism, deciding to ignore him. She instead turned her attention towards Rudy. Even though it was dark out, she could not help but notice that he seemed upset over something. "Rudy? Are you ok?" She asked him softly.

"Hmmm?" He looked over in her direction and saw her looking at him with concern. "Oh… I'm fine. Just tired. I probably should get to bed soon." He assured her, doing his best to sound convincing.

Cecilia nodded in agreement, "I should too." Together they started walking the rest of the way towards their hut. Rudy kept his eyes fixated on the ground as they walked in silence. Cecilia kept glancing over at him, unsure of whether she should say something, or leave him be. She glanced up at the crystal clear sky above them, full of millions of twinkling stars. The moon would also be turning full soon. "It's a beautiful night," she decided to go with that, which did not illicit any sort of response from him. "Rudy?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her, frowning apologetically, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Cecilia shook her head. "Oh… nothing important. I was just commenting on how it is such a lovely night. Should be comfortable for sleeping."

Rudy briefly glanced up at the sky. "It is a nice night…" He agreed with her as they reached the door to their hut. They heard muffled rowdy laughter ringing out from the other side of it.

Cecilia paused at the door and turned to face him. "Hey… I don't know if you and Jack had an argument over something just now, or what. But please remember that I am here for you if you ever have something need to get off your mind. You will always be one of my closest friends, after all." She said as she gave him a reassuring smile.

Even though Cecilia had no way of realizing it, to him, hearing her use the words "always" and "friend" together like that delivered a painful sting. How he wanted deep down to be more than just a friend. To be able to hold her and kiss her under those stars and tell her how much she truly meant to him. Like countless times in the past, he once again felt himself teetering on a dangerous tightrope of emotions. Torn between wanting to be the man who could sweep her off her feet, and forever being the faithful friend. Those damnable feelings he had to grapple with every time they had a moment of closeness, or shared a laugh together. And just like he has done so many times before, he mentally pushed his feelings aside as he shifted both of the bedrolls under one arm. He looked up at her and smiled gently. "Thank you, Cecilia," he said as he reached over and opened the door for her.

As they entered the room, everyone around them was still recovering from laughing too hard. Gallows, however, looked less than amused as he stood next to one of the cots, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Did we miss something?" Cecilia asked as she glanced around the room.

"Yes you did!" Virginia said, and then continued to laugh as she wiped a tear from under her eye. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself enough to talk. "Gallows was telling a joke, and as he was backing up, he tripped over a cot, flipped backwards over it, and landed right on his head!"

"Oh my," Cecilia giggled into her hand. "I hope your head is okay, Gallows."

"I'm alright," Gallows sighed, "see, at least someone here is nice enough to show some concern for my well being." he huffed.

"Maybe we would be more concerned if that wasn't the best possible way your dumb joke could have ended." Jet spoke up from where he was relaxing on the cot in the far corner of the room.

" _Best possible way your dumb joke could have ended_." Gallows mimicked him in a high pitched, whiney voice, putting his hand on his hips, and shaking them side to side mockingly.

"Okay, okay. Let's settle down." Virginia said as she stepped between the two, holding her arms out to each side as Jet looked around Virginia to shoot Gallows one of his infamous death glares. "We are going to wake the whole tribe if we keep this up!" she scolded them.

Cecilia straightened herself up after rummaging through her suitcase. She removed a small fabric satchel, with a simple yet elegant flower design beaded on it, containing her toiletries. "Virginia, would you like to walk over to the ladies wash hut with me?" She invited the brunette.

"Absolutely!" Virginia grinned. She quickly dug through her suitcase and removed a small, leather pouch embossed with a rose design. "I love your bag!" She complimented Cecilia as she met her at the door.

"Oh thank you! It was actually a gift from Rudy for my 19th birthday a couple of weeks ago. Shall we then?" Cecilia asked as she nodded her head to the door.

'Yup! Let's go!"

"I really love your bag too!" Cecilia complimented as they started to leave.

"Aww Thanks! It was a going away gift from my aunt and…" Their conversation continued as they closed the door and walked away.

Jack lifted his brow in amusement as he looked over at Rudy. "Wow, that's some birthday gift." he commented with a cocky grin.

Rudy could not help but face palm at Jack's comment, already knowing where he was trying to go with it. "It's not like that." he groaned into his hand.

"Oh?" Jack said sounding less than convinced.

"No. It's not. She saw it in a shop window a while back while we were in town and really liked it. But she did not want to just buy it since she already had one. So when the zipper tore out of her last bag, I decided to get her that new one for her birthday." He explained

"Uh huh…" Jack responded skeptically.

Clive shifted his eyes between Jack and Rudy, as well as Jet and Gallows who were still brooding at each other. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. He cleared his throat as he adjusted his shirt collar. "Well then…" He began to say as he stood up from the stool he was seated on, in a bid to escape the awkwardness. "Perhaps it is time I too should get ready for bed. Which way was it to the wash huts again?"

"I'll show you. I was just about to head there as well." Rudy said, more than happy to turn his attention away from Jack.

"Ah hell. Guess I'd better go too." Jet sighed as he leaned down an picked up his bag of toiletries from the floor next to his cot before standing up. He looked over at Jack and Gallows. "You guys coming or what?" He asked them.

"You know, I think I'll head over in a little bit," Jack said as he leaned back in the wooden stool he was seated on, resting his back against the wall, crossing his arms. "There is probably going to be a crowd in there still. I will wait for it to thin out."

Gallows was in the process of standing up. "Oh if it's busy, then I think I'll wait too." he said as he sat back down on the edge of his cot. Clive, Jet, Rudy proceeded out the door together.

So, Gallows," Hanpan spoke up, turning his attention towards the Baskar, "I am rather curious- how does this Baskar tribe differ from yours?"

Gallows screwed up his face as he thought for a few moments on how to answer. "Well… It's kinda the same, while at the same time entirely different…"

"Well _that's_ informative." Hanpan said, dismissively.

Gallows put up his hands in protest, "Hey, hey! You gotta let me finish first! Like what I am trying to say is that we are the same in that both tribes believe in living simplistic, minimalist lifestyles along with nature. And the whole 'ritualistic worship of the Guardians' thing. Those are all more of less the same. But there are some really big differences too. Like for instance this tribe is entirely vegetarian. In my tribe we are _mostly_ vegetarian. We do eat some meat from time to time. We never farm it. But long ago we adapted the belief that nature does provide animals for nourishment, so in some cases we hunt. Mostly during droughts when herds need thinning, and our crops and foraging aren't enough to sustain us. This tribe also shuns all forms of weapons and conflict. In my tribe a long time ago it became necessary do have the ability to defend ourselves. Even to the point of accepting the use of ARMs for those born with the ability to use them, like me for example."

"Hrmm." Hanpan hummed with a nod, "that is very thought provoking. It makes me wonder how many other similitudes exist between our two universes. Like, I wonder if all of us existed at any point in your time line?"

"What is the use in even thinking about any of that?" Jack asked with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The only thing I am concerned with is the here and the now. As in; we have all been brought here together, now is the time to take action, beat the bad guys, and move on."

Hanpan shook his head. "Unlike you Jack, this might be considered thought provoking to some. Aren't you the least bit curious about what you may have been in another life?"

Jack pursed his lips together as he thought for a split second before answering. "No, not really…"

* * *

Halfway across the village in the women's wash hut, Cecilia and Virginia stood side by side amongst a group of four Baskar women in front of a large stone basin. The Baskar women took their leave as the two young women finished up toweling their faces dry, leaving them all alone in the building.

Virginia folded up her small towel, setting it back inside her leather bag. She then took off her red headband, and proceeded to start undoing her long brown hair from its braid. "So Cecilia, can I ask you something?" She asked, looking over at her companion as she ran her fingers through her long tendrils of hair, loosening them from one another.

"Of couse." Cecilia responded. She had taken off her red headband and was running a brush through her flaxen hair.

Virginia reached for her own brush and began to brush out the front sections of her hair. "I was wondering… if you and Rudy are boyfriend and girlfriend."

Cecilia giggled as her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. "Oh no, no. It's nothing like that. We are just… very good friends."

The corners of Virginia's lips twitched into a slight frown. "Oh ok. I was just curious because it seems like the two of you are really close, so I thought I would ask. I was going to say…" she abruptly stopped, clasping her hands over her mouth, nearly dropping her hairbrush in the process. "oh! Never mind. Sorry. Forget I said anything."

"It's alright. You can go ahead and say it now that you've made me curious." Cecilia said as she worked her brush around to the back of her head.

Virginia pouted, drooping her shoulders. "I was going to say that you two make a really cute couple. I'm sorry, it was rude of me to assume." she said as she bowed her head.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind." Cecilia said as she glanced down at the bag Rudy gave her, laying before her on the edge of the wash basin. Her eyes softened as a fond smile played at her lips. "You are hardly the first person to make that mistake. And truth be told, he really does mean _a lot_ to me. It is just that… it is a rather complicated situation on my end. So we are just… friends."

"I see…" Virginia frowned, "I am sorry I brought it up. Me and my big mouth."

"I said it's fine!" Cecilia assured her as she smiled cheerfully at her. "So, how about you? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No…" Virginia deflated with a frustrated sigh. "There is someone I really care for and I thought, perhaps things may have been going that direction. But it is also a complicated situation. As in, he is being _really_ complicated lately." she said as she continued to run her brush through her hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Cecilia said giving her an apologetic look, "I do hope things come around for you soon then." She started putting her toiletries back into her bag.

Virginia chuckled dejectedly, "Why does this relationship stuff have to be so difficult?"

Cecilia shook her head, stifling a laugh, "I wish I knew… Anyway, I am all set here if you are."

"Almost ready." Virginia replied as she started to put her items back into her pouch.

The two women left the wash hut together and began walking across the village towards their hut. Along the way, they came across Clive, Jet and Rudy, who were on their way back as well.

"Evening." Clive greeted them with a nod.

"Yo." Jet said with a small wave of his hand.

"Hey." Rudy smiled.

"Good evening." Cecilia and Virginia responded to them in perfect unison. They then both giggled into their hands at having both spoken in perfect unison.

As they were nearing their hut, they crossed paths with Jack, Hanpan and Gallows, who were finally making their way over to the men's wash hut. Once back inside, the five of them started getting ready to tuck in for the night. Cecilia and Virginia in the two cots along the wall with the door and Clive, Gallows and Jet taking the three on the opposite wall. Rudy took up one of the bedrolls and looked around for a good spot to place it. On the far end of the hut was the fire pit and it didn't leave very much room around it. The table and chairs took up the corner opposite the door, which left that option out. And sleeping in the walk way was not a good idea. The only spot left was the small amount of space between Cecilia's cot and the door.

Cecilia took notice of his predicament. "Here…" she offered as she stood up from her cot. "We can shift Virginia over as far as it can go, and then move my cot up next to Virginia's. That looks like it should make enough room for you and Jack to fit in. It will be a tight squeeze for us all though. Is that alright with you, Virginia?"

"Fine by me. We'll make it work." She said as she got up and helped Cecilia slide the cots over.

Cecilia knelt down beside Rudy and helped him set up his and Jack's sleeping arrangements as the other three went about getting ready for bed. Virginia pulled a small book out of her suitcase, and sat down in her cot. With a contented smile, she leaned her back against the clay wall and turned her book to the first page. It was her own little tradition to start a new book at the beginning of every mission, and read from it each night before bed. As her eyes scanned across the pages, her smile faded away into a look of horror as her jaw dropped.

"What's the matter with you?" Jet asked, watching her from his cot directly across from hers.

Virginia began to read part of the passage she was on out loud. "Along the shores of a crystal blue lake buried deep within a magical forest, a honey-bosomed maiden sleeps restlessly amidst the spring breeze, yearning for the arrival of a handsome prince…" She shook her head as she curled her lower lip in disgust, "Ugh! What on Filgaia did I take?!" She asked aloud, slamming the book shut and flinging it out of her hands, wringing her fingers like she just handled something vile.

Curious, Cecilia sat down on her bed next to Virginia, and gingerly reached over, picking the book up. She flipped it open and looked through the pages, searching out the spot Virginia was reading. Once she found it, she began to quietly read aloud, "The sun gently caressed her delicate frame, warming her to the core as if it were spreading gentle kisses across her porcelain skin. As she laid there, envisioning the sun as her handsome prince, a warmth spread through her, igniting her senses, and causing a tingle to travel downward toward her…" Wide eyed, Cecilia abruptly slammed the book shut, her whole face going red. She wordlessly lowered her head as she placed the book back down on Virginia's bed, and folded her hands in her lap, feeling too awkward to make eye contact with a room full of men after having read it.

Puzzled, Jet and Rudy looked at the two of them, naively unsure of what all the fuss was about. Clive, however, shook his head knowingly as he took his glasses off and placed them on the table, before sitting down on his cot. He decided it would be best to just not say anything at this point.

"So… what's wrong with it then?" Jet asked.

"It's… one of… _those_ kinds of books." Virginia pouted.

"A what?" Jet retorted, cocking his eyebrows. "I don't know what that even means!"

"It's… a _dirty_ book!" She snapped back, her face flushed.

Jet's eyes widened, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as he realized what she meant. "Oh… Gee Virginia, didn't think those were the kinds of books you were into these days." He replied, sarcastically.

"Ugh! No they are not!" she scoffed, slicing her hand through the air. "I was in a hurry when I packed this afternoon, so I grabbed a book at random from the shelf. I thought maybe it could be a fun surprise…"

"I guess you got a bigger surprise than you anticipated." Cecilia said, breaking out into a fit of giggling.

Clive buried his face in his hand, trying his hardest to contain himself. "Oh Guardians… Cecilia… that was…" He could not even finish his sentence as he started laughing, pressing his fingers into his eyes. Everyone else in the room broke down into laughter, to the point where even Jet couldn't help but join in with them.

"What's so funny?" They heard Hanpan's voice cut through. Nobody had noticed that He, Jack and Gallows had returned.

"It's this book I brought." Virginia said as she nodded towards the book laying on the side of her bed. "It's… well…ummm." She stammered, combing her fingers through her hair as she tried to explain.

"Well, what's wrong with it?" Gallows asked as he walked over to her cot, reaching down and taking up the book. He flipped it open, his eyes scanning back and fourth across the pages as he read it silently. He stopped and slowly lowered the book from in front of his face. "You brought smut along to read on our trip?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Hehe… smut." Cecilia snickered at the word.

"Whoa, seriously?" Jack asked as he stepped up besides Gallows, reaching over and taking the book from him.

"I didn't mean to!" Virginia whined, balling up her hands into fists. "I took a book at random from the shelf at home… and well, this is what I ended up with." She explained, trying to defend herself. "I didn't even know we had a book like that at home. It must be my aunts. Or, maybe it was my moms? Ewww…" She shuddered at the thought.

"Damn, this thing wastes no time getting to the good stuff." Jack said as he flipped through the pages.

Cecilia's jaw dropped in disbelief. "I can not believe you are actually reading it!"

"Eh," Jack shrugged as he continued to thumb through the pages, "It's not like there is anything in here that I haven't already done- ack!" he flinched as his face twisted in disgust. "Ok never mind. Never done that."

"Oh what?" Gallows asked as he leaned in and looked over Jack's shoulder at the page he was reading. "Oh yeah, no. No way… wow. Virginia this book is filthy!"

Overcome with embarrassment, Virginia put her hands over her ears, shaking her head side to side. "This is not happening." She said as she closed her eyes tightly. Suddenly the book landed with a soft thud at her feet on the end of her cot. Jet had gotten up and swiped it out of Jack's hands.

"Here, do us all a favor and keep your porno book away from these two dunderheads." He said as he crawled back into his bed.

"Oh you guys are no fun." Jack said with a dismissive wave. "Should we call it a night then?" He asked. Everyone in the room nodded and agreed. "Ok sure, nobody get up to go and turn the lamp down." He groused as he marched to the opposite side of the hut to turn down the flame.

"Why would we, when you are still standing there?" Jet asked.

"Yeah, yeah…" Jack huffed as he started walking back towards his bedroll. "Ow, damn it!" He cursed as he stubbed his toe on one of the cots.

"Ah! My foot!" Rudy yelped after Jack stepped on him while trying to navigate his way in the dark room.

"Eeek! You almost sat on me!" Hanpan cried out as he leapt out of the way.

"Sorry, sorry…" Jack apologized. "Alright I think I've got it… Too dark to really see anything." He said as he settled into his bed. "Alright Rudy, which did you want to be tonight? Big spoon or little spoon?" Rudy rolled over slightly, glaring over his shoulder at Jack.

"Aww I was just about to ask Jet the same thing!" Gallows said.

"Go to hell..." was Jet's annoyed response.

"Oh my gosh you guys, stop it!" Virginia said as she and Cecilia tried to stifle their laughter.

"So help me, I will forcibly silence the next person who talks." Clive grumbled sleepily from his cot.

"Oh boy, you know Clive means business when he unleashes the 'dad' voice." Gallows teased.

"Gallows…" came Clive's stern warning.

"Alright, alright. Lets call it a night you guys." Virginia said with a smile.

* * *

 **Authors note: Oh boy, some things were getting pretty deep there. Always leave it to Jack to rip the band-aid off, amirite? So yeah, between learning how to deal newly becoming anemic courtesy of a recent, yet now life long medical condition, having a toddler, and the rampant illness and the minuscule amounts of sleep that comes with owning said toddler, I find myself unable to sit up at all hours of the night writing like I used to back in the good ol' days. So some updates might come slower than others. Never fear, the story will continue to completion. I have 13 chapters of this beast written so far. And my husband/beta reader/half-assed editor is way to invested in this story to let me quit. Not that I'd want to. Which leads me to...**

 **Authors note 2.0: I have an extra special Valentines day chapter planned. *hint hint*. But there is one more chapter that comes between this one and that one. So stay tuned for updates over these next 10 days. :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Teamwork

**Authors Note: Yeah this one is kind of long. Hope you like reading. :) In this chapter: battle strategies, mediums, and a journey to the final team mate. Oh my! But first a brief word from our antagonists.**

* * *

In the laboratory at the demon fortress, a large lizard-like demon, with blue-grey colored skin, floated curled up in a fetal position inside of an enormous incubation pod full of bubbling pale amber liquid. Around him, several different machines buzzed and hummed quietly in the back ground. In the far end of the room behind the pod, sat a pale skinned demon woman in deep meditation. Her legs crossed in lotus position as her hands formed a triangle shape in her lap. Her long, shiny, midnight black hair cascaded around her. A single white horn protruded from the top of her forehead through the thick strands of hair. Her eyes remained closed tightly as she sat, unmoving. She was so still to the point where it was hard to tell that she was even breathing. Situated in a semi-circle around her were six stone pillars, atop each one was a pyramid shaped green stone, each one emitting a slight green glow.

Virgil stood in front of the incubation pod, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he stared into it, lost in thought. Kneeling on the ground next to him was a large demon, his pale red skin stretched tightly over arm muscles almost as big around as his head. He was busily laboring over an enormous cannon looking weapon. In the far corner leaning against a wall was a rather diminutive looking demon, with his arms crossed over his chest, appearing bored. The large stone door next to the demon opened up as Vivian entered.

"Virgil, sir." she addressed him, pausing, waiting for his response.

"Speak." he commanded her, barely looking back over his shoulder.

"It was indeed a disturbance with the Guardians that our leyline tracker picked up. I was able to trace its source to the Time Guardian's temple. I fear that they may be on to us, and are plotting a counter offensive."

Virgil shifted his focus back on the incubation pod before him, "I am hardly surprised by that. It is likely they have already called upon their human warriors. But that is no matter. We will crush them before they even have a chance to reach us. Now that we are no longer under the control of Zeikfried, Mother, and their foolish ways, we can deal with our problems efficiently and mercilessly. Those humans do not stand a chance."

"But why would that involve the time Guardian I wonder?" Vivian asked him.

"That I do not have an answer to. Continue to monitor the Guardians closely. With your superior ARM prowess you are the one here best suited for that task."

"Pfft..." The demon leaning against the wall spat on the ground.

"Got a problem, Lavadros?" Vivian asked, as she turned to face him.

"Indeed I do. It is a bastardization of my hard work that an abomination like you not only outranks me- but to see my remarkable inventions used by you-"

"Silence, Lavadros!" Virgil bellowed, swiftly turning to face him, "We are about to witness the culmination of our combined hard work and dedication. We are on the cusp of having this entire planet at our finger tips. Get over your petty squabbling, for the rewards we are about to reap shall be great."

Vivian turned back towards Virgil, "And what of the human warriors, then?" She asked him.

"Leave 'em to me." the hulking demon spoke as he looked up from his work at them, "I've nearly finished repairs on that golems phaser cannon I uncovered in the desert. They don't stand a chance against it."

"I agree Herschel. You are the perfect candidate to intercept them. How much longer until your repairs are done?" Virgil asked him.

"Shouldn't be more 'n a couple days, tops. But that lil' flyin' machine of theirs will make perfect practice for fine tuning my new toy. Once I'm done with them, there shouldn't be even a single molecule left to find, now that they no longer have their precious Earth Golem to protect 'em." Herschel answered him.

"Perfect. I look forward to seeing your results. Vivian, you may return to your duties. Inform me immediately if you are able to uncover anything more regarding the Guardians plans." Virgil ordered her. Vivian nodded as she turned to leave.

"And what of me, sir?" Lavadros asked.

"So long as the generator is powering up on schedule, I have no other use for you at this time, you are to wait here patiently in case you are needed." Virgil answered.

As Vivian walked towards the door, she paused next to Lavadros. Facing the door, not bothering to look in his direction, she spoke in a hushed threatening tone. "Jealousy is unbecoming of a demon such as yourself. You know full well that the only reason any of this is possible, is because of my very existence. I earned my rank by willingly subjecting myself to his tests. None of your work would have even been possible without me. You need me and you know it. You better start biting your tongue in my presence, or I will rip it out myself next time." She said as her cold blue eyes glared over at him. Before he had a chance to make any response or comeback, she was out the door.

* * *

The next morning, Rudy was the first one up at the crack of dawn, followed shortly by Clive. Then Cecilia and Virginia awoke with Jet waking soon after. They all quietly milled about as they got ready for the day. As a group, they decided to head over to the chief's to see if there was any assistance they could offer the tribe as a thank you for the meal and lodgings. They learned that there was a recently widowed elderly woman, whose husband had left behind a rather sizeable vegetable garden that was in need of some extra tending to. Clive, Jet and Rudy opted to go and offer her some assistance, as Cecilia and Virginia chose to stay behind at the chief's hut to help his wife prepare breakfast for their group. Rudy was at the tribe well drawing water when he heard footsteps approaching from his right.

"Hey…" Jack greeted him.

"Hi…" Rudy responded flatly as he continued to pull down on the rope that operated the pulley, bringing up a full pail of water.

"Look," Jack began as he scratched at the back of his head, "I realize that I crossed a few lines last night, and I just wanted to apologize for that. So, are we still cool?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "It's alright." He finished pulling up the full pail, unhooking it from the rope, and transferring the water inside to another pail sitting on the ground. He then replaced the well pail, and the wooden well cover. He bent down to pick up that pail, plus another one which he had already filled.

"Here…" Jack offered as he reached down and took one of them

"So, what was going on with you two last night anyway?" Hanpan asked from his usual spot on Jack's shoulder as the two men started walking together.

"Nothing you need to go poking your big nose into." Jack answered him.

"Humph." Hanpan huffed as he crossed his arms and looked away.

"It's fine. I don't mind if Hanpan knows," Rudy said, "And actually, I've been giving it some thought, and I think you're right… somewhat. If she just wants to stay friends, then I am more than willing to accept that. But, I need to hear that from her-"

"Ohhhh…" Hanpan interrupted. "So _that's_ what was going on. Geez Jack, didn't I tell you to stay out of it? And you say I'm the one with the big nose…"

" _Anyway_ …" Jack said as he brought the conversation back on track, "that's a step in the right direction, but are you sure you'll be okay being just friends? Even knowing full well that you two do have some degree of feelings for each other? I mean, that is not exactly an easy or feasible thing to do. Even for an easy going Mr. nice guy like yourself."

"I'm sure," Rudy nodded, "she is, first and foremost one of my best friends. I don't want to lose that. Once I know for certain, then at least I will know, and can move on. Sad to say, but I am pretty used to rejection by this point. It'll hurt, but I'll get by."

"And hey, if it does go badly, you could always just come on over to Milama, and you and I can drown your sorrows away at the pub together." Jack ribbed him, "That's the best way to handle a rejection."

"Ummm, I don't really know about that." Rudy winced apprehensively at the thought, scratching at the back of his head. Together they arrived at the elderly woman's hut, heading around back to the garden.

"Just in time!" Clive greeted them, holding a watering can. Rudy and Jack carried the pails over to a wind worn wooden water cistern and dumped them in.

The widow came to the door, wiping her hands clean on a small towel. She looked up and noticed that Jack had arrived. "Ohhh who do we have here?" she asked amusedly, raising an eyebrow, "This tall, handsome fellow has come to help an old girl out. Come on inside with me, dear. I've got a _special_ job for you." She winked as she stepped out the doorway just enough to snatch Jack by the wrist.

"Think you should tell her that you have a girlfriend?" Hanpan teased with a lighthearted chuckle as he leapt off Jack's shoulder and over to Rudy's before any retribution could come his way. Jack shot the others a weary look as the woman pulled him through the doorway and around the corner.

"I don't even wanna know what that was all about..." Jet spoke up from where he was kneeling in the garden, pulling weeds. "Yo, am I even doin' this right?" he asked, looking over at Clive. "I ain't ever done this before…"

"Just make sure you are getting the roots out, otherwise the weeds will just grow right back." Clive answered him.

"Gimme a break! What if they ain't all coming out?"

"Then you use that trowel she gave you, and dig them out."

" _That's_ what this damn thing's for?" Jet growled as he snatched up the trowel and held it out in front of him. "Ugh, come on! No way! Alright, where did Rudy go? I'm switching jobs with him!" Jet said as he began looking around.

Clive glanced around as well. "Hmmm, it appears that he must have left already to go and retrieve some more water." He said as he walked over to the cistern to refill the watering can.

"Bastard…" Jet cursed him out under his breath as he begrudgingly returned to pulling weeds.

After a short while, Rudy, along with Hanpan, eventually returned with more water (which he may have deliberately taken extra time with, in order to avoid switching jobs with Jet). As he was pouring the buckets into the cistern, Jack appeared, leaning against the door way, eating a jam filled cookie.

Hanpan looked up, once he noticed him standing there, "Wow, do you always get a cookie for a job well done?" he asked his companion.

"Yup, every time." Jack responded sarcastically with a wink, "Nah, she actually just needed some high shelves cleaned off-"

"And you gotta cookie for it?!" Jet scoffed angrily as he stood up, dusting the dirt from hands. "Hell, we've been out here actually busting our asses. I wanna cookie too!"

"Don't worry, don't worry," the elderly Baskar woman crooned as she walked around from behind Jack, carrying a small platter of cookies. "I've made enough for each of you boys to have a couple. My strawberry jam cookies were my late husband's favorite. Please accept them as a sincere thank you for all of your hard work this morning. The garden is looking absolutely wonderful."

"You are most welcome." Clive nodded to her as he reached out and took a cookie for himself, "These are delicious! Thank you!" he said after taking a bite.

After the guys enjoyed a few cookies, they quickly finished up on the garden and put the tools away in the small wooden tool shed behind her hut. After bidding the woman goodbye, they set out towards the chiefs hut, cookies in hand, figuring that breakfast would be ready soon.

As they walked, Rudy glanced down at the two cookies still left in his hand, "So… do we share these with the others?" he asked.

"No way!" Jet replied sharply, "We worked for these."

"Yeah, if you want to share yours, you can go right on ahead. But I'm eating mine." Jack added in.

"I guess you're right. So what do we do then?" Rudy asked him.

"Easy," Jack answered, "we take our time walking back and finish them all before we get there."

"You are a master of deception." Hanpan commented.

As the five of them rounded a corner, they bumped into Cecilia, Virginia and Gallows. "Oh there you are!" Cecilia greeted them, "We were just on our way to find you all and let you know that break- where did you get those?!" She stopped mid sentence and pointed to one of the cookies in Jack's hand.

They guys all looked around at each other, wondering who was going to be the one to answer. Clive cleared this throat, deciding to take the bullet and be the one to deliver the explanation. "They were a thank you for our work this morning-"

"And let me guess- you jerks were planning on holding out on us? Weren't you?" Virginia accused them.

"Hey now!" Gallows spoke up, raising his hands in protest, "I didn't see either of you rushin' out to offer them any of that tea cake the chiefs wife shared with us this morning. So you're even."

"Gallows!" Virginia squealed as she whipped around to face him, her hands balled into fists, "We swore you to secrecy over that!"

"Well, yeah you did," he shrugged, "but it's not fair to guilt them, when you did the exact same thing."

"Ugh you're right…" Virginia pouted as she turned around to face the guys, brushing her hair out of her face, "sorry you guys."

"It's not a problem." Clive said with a small shrug, "So, you were saying that breakfast is prepared for us?"

"Mmmhmm," Cecilia nodded. They all started walking together. "it is waiting over at the chiefs hut. I hope you all didn't get too full on cookies. We made quite the spread."

Back at the chief's hut, everyone enjoyed a huge breakfast, with plenty left-over to take along for their trip. After breakfast, they decided as a group to prepare for battle and head out into the field for Team Maxwell to test and see if the Chiefs arcana theory was indeed correct. While walking through the dry grasslands outside of Baskar village, it did not take long for them to happen across a group of tree-like monsters.

"It appears they are weak to fire. But I do not sense any resistances." Cecilia concluded as she finished checking their stats with an analyze spell. She then retreated back with Jack and Rudy to let Virginia's team take over.

"Well, I got the fire medium. Guess I'll give it a shot first then." Jet said as he stepped up. He attempted to cast his fire attack. Nothing happened. He twitched his lips into an annoyed frown. "Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I am the worst at this magic thing."

"Clive, your turn!" Virginia shouted to him as she dodged an attack.

"Right!" Clive nodded. He attempted to use wind arcana, and again, nothing happened.

"Ok, now it's my turn!" Virginia said with a determined smirk as she ran to an advantageous position. She skidded across the ground to a halt. A dry puff of dirt wafting from behind her feet as she did. She spun around to face one of the monsters. casting earth magic on it, but to no avail. Normally when she invoked a medium, she could sense a tingle of energy emitting from it. However this time there was no response at all. She momentarily stared down in shock at the small, engraved stone plate in her hand.

"Virginia! Damn it! Watch out!" She heard Jet shout. She looked up to see a large tree-like monster baring down on her. Before she could react, Jet leapt in front of her, firing his ARM into the monster, killing it.

"Jet, those are supposed to be for practice!" She scolded him.

"Well then you need to stop day dreaming and get with the program! You nearly took a direct hit!" He argued back at her.

"Guess it's time to see what happens." Gallows said as he stepped in. He invoked the water medium, the one he had the most connection to. Massive globes of water materialized out of thin air around the bodies of the remaining monsters. The globes swelled, entrapping the monsters completely, before they imploded in on themselves with a massive amount of force. With a hiss, their bodies dissolved as they were instantly vanquished. "Whew! Not bad!" he nodded, impressed with his handiwork."

"Gallows, that was remarkable!" Clive complimented him as he walked over.

"I'll say," Cecilia added in as she, Jack and Rudy joined them. "I don't think I've ever been able to cast an attack that strong."

"I dunno, I mean, they didn't seem that tough. I managed to snuff one out easily enough." Jet said as he and Virginia joined up with them.

Cecilia shook her head, "No they weren't that strong, but the magical energy that came off of Gallows' attack was nothing like my crest sorcery. It was far stronger, I could feel it."

"I wonder if that is because when Gallows uses arcana, he taps straight into the Guardians themselves via the mediums. Where as you combine the base elements using crest magic." Hanpan surmised.

Gallows shrugged, "No idea. But that was a pretty impressive attack. Even for me. 'Course I've also been practicing and working to improve my spiritual side since I've been home. So that might have somethin' to do with it."

"I'm impressed!" Virginia said patting him on the shoulder, "Your hard work has definitely paid off then, from the looks of it."

"Well it's not like I've been slackin' off the _entire_ time I've been back in Baskar."

"I guess we can now conclude that the Chief was indeed correct in his hypothesis about our mediums." Clive said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his three stone tablets, "Here. They will do you far more good than I while we are here." he said as he handed them to Gallows.

"Yo, mine too." Jet said handing his over as well. "Not like I ever used 'em much anyway…"

"I guess… you should have these as well…" Virginia said begrudgingly as she handed hers over too.

"This is all well and good," Gallows said, looking down at his handful of mediums, "but what am I supposed to do with all of these? I can only equip so many on me at one time!"

"May I see one of those?" Cecilia asked him.

"Oh, sure," he answered as he handed her Grudiev's medium.

"Hmmm," Cecilia hummed as she looked it over. She then reached into a small satchel she wore, which she kept her mediums and some healing items in. After shuffling through it, she pulled out her version of Grudiev, and held them side by side, investigating them.

"Maybe just use the ones you actively need at the time, and switch between them as necessary." Clive suggested.

"I dunno, sounds kinda complicated," Gallows frowned, looking down at the handful of mediums. "but I can't think of any better solutions at the moment. I guess that's what I'm gonna hafta do then.

"I am wondering though, can you actually summon a Guardian here?" Jack asked.

"I was just thinking the same exact thing." Cecilia said as she handed Gallows back his medium, "Your medium is almost identical to mine. And they both emit a very similar energy. I think it may be possible. Should we give it a try?"

"Uh, sure. I'm game. I'm kinda curious 'bout it myself." Gallows said. Together they sought out another battle. After about 20 minutes of walking though the medow, they came across some more of the tree-like monsters. "Alright, here goes nuthin'!" Gallows said, with Moor Gault's medium in hand. Once he performed a summon, the giant flaming bird Guardian came rushing out of the sky and incinerated the monsters to ash.

"I guess that settles everything we need to know." Hanpan said as they all began the trek back to Baskar.

"This is likely gonna leave me with some limitations though," Gallows began to explain to his new team mates, "I'm gonna have a helluva hard time trying to constantly sort through 12 different mediums for each battle. I also wanna mention that while I've always been decent with attack arcana, I never really got the hang of healing arcana all that well. Like, I can do it. But just don't rely on my healing arcana to be as strong."

"That's no matter then," Hanpan spoke up, "where as Cecilia can dish out an impressive amount of attack magic, her healing and support spells are top notch. I also somehow get the feeling that a designated healer is going to more or less much be a must."

"True," Cecilia said, "but how are we going to balance all of this out then?"

Clive adjusted his glasses, thinking for a moment before speaking, "Having one person dedicated to elemental attacks on the front line, while the other focuses on healing and support spells safely beyond the danger zone, sounds like a very well thought out strategy to me."

"Outside the danger zone? As in hang back and let everyone else handle the fighting instead?" Cecilia asked, looking discouraged.

"Don't hate me for this, Princess," Jack spoke up," I honestly do think you are as tough as they come. However, I get the feeling that a big guy like Gallows here can take quite a few more hits during a battle than you." he said as he clapped Gallows on the shoulder.

"Please don't take what I've said as an insult," Clive began to clarify, upon seeing her discouraged expression, "but without a reliable healer watching our backs in the heat of battle, that could leave us in a very vulnerable, and dangerous situation. This is merely a matter of playing to our team's strengths. If we lose our healer, all of us could quickly lose our lives."

"He makes a pretty valid point." Rudy agreed, "I know that it is asking a lot of you, and I know that you want to do your share of the fighting, but I really think that stepping back and letting Gallows take over with the battle magic would be the smartest option."

'Only if you are alright with it, though," Gallows asked her, "I-I really don't wanna step on anyone's toes here."

"Yeah, I agree." Cecilia sighed, begrudgingly, "I can see the point you all are trying to make, and I agree. I just don't like the idea of standing back and watching everyone else handle the fighting for me."

"Wow, look at the time!" Jack interrupted them, looking down at his watch, "It is already getting into the early afternoon. We should hurry back and get a move on it!"

At their group was heading back, a series of loud squeals caught their attention. They all paused, and began to look around when Jack spotted a pack four of orcs racing towards them. "Hey you two," Jack said to his two team mates, "wanna show these newcomers how it's done on our turf?"

"Sure!" they both answered in unison as they assumed battle stances.

Jack drew his sword from it's sheath as he raced straight at the lead orc. With one quick, percise swipe of his blade, he cut the monster perfectly in two down the middle, it's body dissolving with a dying squeal.

"Guess I'll go next! If I'm not mistaken, these ones are weak to ice!" Cecilia said as she twirled her scepter around her. A large ice pillar erupted through the ground, impaling through the body of another orc, killing it instantly.

"I've got the last two then!" Rudy called out removing a cartridge from his ammo bag and loading it into the chamber of his Hand Cannon.

"Two at once, huh?" Jet said as he crossed his arms raising his eyebrow skeptically, watching him.

"Mmhmm." Cecilia said with a nod. "That's no problem for Rudy with his ARMs unique ability."

Rudy aimed his ARM into the air at an upwards angle and fired a shot into the sky. A blast of light blazed fourth from the muzzle as the bullet cartridge flew the air over the heads of the monsters, and almost as if hitting some sort of invisible barrier, broke apart scattered. 12 bullets came crashing down into their bodies, making short work of them.

"Impressive display by all of you!" Clive complimented them with an affirming nod.

"So Jet, think you can pull of an attack like that?" Gallows ribbed him.

"Of course I can't," Jet huffed, "neither can you."

"It's not a competition, you guys." Virginia grumbled under her breath at the two of them.

"Now that all of that is settled then, we really need to get on our way." Hanpan said as he and Jack joined up with the rest of them.

They all continued their walk back, most of them chatting enthusiastically about different attacks and battle strategies, except for Virginia who seemed preoccupied over something, and Jet who was being broody as usual. Once they were back to the hut, they quickly packed up their gear, and gave the place a quick clean up.

"Hey Gallows, can you take my bag for me, I need to head to the wash hut one last time before we get on our way." Virginia asked him as she handed him her suitcase.

"Oh yeah, sure Ginny." he said, taking her suitcase for her.

Outside the hut, Jet was waiting for the others when Virginia hurried past him.

"I just need to use the restroom!" Virginia shouted out to him over her shoulder as she hurried by.

"Uh… ok, whatever." Jet mumbled. When he looked up though, he saw that Virginia had changed her course, and was now heading in a different direction than the wash huts. _Wonder where she's going…_ he thought to himself.

Eventually the rest of their group came filing out of the hut to take all of their gear to the Gullwing. After loading all of their gear up, they made one final trip into the village to make sure nothing was left behind. They also wanted to bid the chief and his family farewell, and thank them for their hospitality.

Jet noticed that Virginia wasn't back yet once everyone was ready, so he opted to go and look for her, since he seemed to be the only one who saw which direction she headed in. He retraced her steps as far as he could. He paused and looked around, eventually spying her standing against weathered remnants of a clay wall that bordered the back end of village. She was staring down into the ground as she drilled the toe of her brown leather boot into the sandy earth. She already had quite a sizeable hole scooped out by the time he approached her. "This don't look like the bathroom." he said.

"Huh?!" She jumped, startled at Jet's voice. She drew her eyes upwards in his direction, seeing that it was just him. "Oh… yeah I guess not. I just needed some air for a moment. I'll be right over." She said, her voice having a melancholy edge to it.

"You needed air when we have been outside practically all day?" Jet raised his eyebrow, looking her over, obviously not buying into it. "Virginia, what's really goin' on?" He asked her as he shifted his weight to his left leg and folded his arms across his chest.

She sighed, slumping her shoulders forward, "I guess… now that I can't use my mediums for the rest of this mission, I've been wondering- what good am I going to be for the team? You and I both know that I am not the strongest fighter. But, being able to use arcana with the mediums, I was… useful. Sure my arcana was never anywhere near as strong as Gallows. But I was still really good at it. It made me feel like - like I could contribute to the fighting on equal ground with the rest of you. And now that is gone. Clearly between you three, and Rudy's team, we more than have all of our bases covered. Even earlier you still had to jump in and protect me because I wasn't paying attention. Am I just going to get in everyone's way now?"

Jet shook his head as he rolled his eyes at her, "I can't believe I actually have to be the one to tell you this, but it ain't all about the fighting," he began, sounding constrained, "and I know you know that. You're a natural leader. I can tell you right now that this rag tag group is going to need that more than anything. And somehow I get the feeling their 'leader' ain't really the take charge type. At least not like you. So… you know… don't worry 'bout it so much." He said as he ran his hand through his hair. "Besides, if you wanna get real technical, the one who has always contributed the least to everything is me." he mumbled that last part as he turned away from her.

Virginia narrowed her eyes quizzically, "Jet? What exactly do you mean by-" She started to ask him.

"Never mind!" he cut her off sharply. He turned his head looking back over his shoulder at her, "Just… forget I said that last part, alright. Look, we need to get going. Everyone else is probably waiting on us."

"Yeah, I guess you are right," she said as she pushed herself away from the wall, smoothing out her dress as she straightened up. "let's get going."

After the two of them arrived back at the hut, they met up with Clive who held back to wait for them, and did a final pass to make sure they had everything before heading off towards the Gullwing together. They approached the rest of the group hanging around outside the Gullwing. Virginia spotted Rudy amongst them and realized one thing that could at least help her put her mind at ease. Since they were both the appointed leaders of their respective teams, it made sense that the two of them should probably have a much needed conversation, to make sure that they could be on the same page as far as how to handle important decisions. Once her, Clive and Jet rejoined everyone else, Virginia sought Rudy out from the rest of the group as everyone made their way on to the Gullwing. "Um, hey, Rudy?" she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Oh… hi," he said as he turned to face her. "did you need something?"

"I was actually wondering… if perhaps you and I could talk- just the two of us, at some point today."

"Sure," he nodded. He thought for a brief moment before continuing, "do you want to sit up front and co-pilot with me while we fly? We can talk there." he suggested to her.

"That sounds great, thank you." she accepted his invitation.

Once everyone was loaded on the Gullwing and situated for the flight, Rudy and Virginia made their way up to the cockpit and took their respective seats. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked her as he started flipping switches on the control panel, starting up the aircraft. The crimson red machine noisily rattling to life around them.

"Well, I was just thinking," Virginia began, "since we are both the respective leaders of our teams, I thought maybe it would be a good idea for you and I to touch base, get a chance to talk one on one and get to know each other a little better, for the sake of cohesiveness. We are, after all, combining two very different teams. Each with their own unique quirks, dynamics and established battle strategies. I think it would definitely help to make sure you and I are at least on the same page with things, and to make sure we are able to communicate efficiently. I mean, I would hate for any misunderstanding to cause a rift, which could possibly cost all of us big time."

"That makes sense." he agreed with her. He removed the map from his back pocket and unfolded it, setting it down on the dashboard, between the two of them so that they both could look it over before taking off.

"I don't even know where we are on this map," Virginia said with an apologetic frown, "I probably won't be of much use to you up here, sorry."

"We're here," Rudy said pointing to Baskar, "and it looks like it is almost a straight shot north to where we need to be. All you really need to do is just help me keep an eye on things. Like making sure some of these land features on this map, we are actually passing. Like the Zenom Mountains, for instance," he slid his finger over, pointing out the mountain range to her on the map, "because if we don't, then something is very, very wrong."

"Has anything like that ever happened before?" she asked him.

Rudy scratched at the back of his head, "Well, no. But then again I am also talking to someone from a completely different dimension right now. So I don't think anything else could really surprise me at this point." He switched the Gullwing into hover, the aircraft lurched up, quickly gaining altitude.

"Heh, yeah, fair point." she said with a amused grin. "Well that all sounds easy enough I guess, so I will do my best." She slid the map closer in order to look it over. "So anyway, going back to what I wanted to talk about. I realize that I am not the strongest of fighters. Now I've lost the use of my arcana abilities too. I may not have much to offer to the team as a whole. But I wanted you, the others as well, but mostly you, to know that you can count on me. Both in and out of battle. Whatever it takes to see this through to the end, I am here to help, and work with everyone."

"I know I can count on you," he assured her, "I can already tell by the way that your team respects you that you are a very strong and dependable leader. That's a really useful trait to have. And I want you to know that just because this happens to be our Filgaia, please don't automatically assume that me, or any of my group, are in charge, or anything like that. As far as this mission goes, you know just as much as we know. And, to be honest, taking charge of things isn't really one of my strong suits. So I want to hear your opinions, and I don't mind at all deferring to your judgment."

Virginia relaxed back into her seat, watching the scenery go by beneath them. "You know, Jet said something pretty similar to me earlier. I guess I was just feeling a little too sorry for myself. So, if you don't mind my asking- you say that you don't really see yourself as the leader type. Then why did you just allow your team mates to throw all of the responsibility on you like that?"

Rudy shrugged, "To be honest, I just don't like to argue. I never really see much of a point in it most of the time. I know Jack is always telling me that I am way too passive for my own good. And maybe sometimes he is right. But I would just rather just get things done however it is safest and easiest for everyone else involved."

"I guess I can understand that. I don't like pointless conflict either." she said. She continued to sit there, watching him fly as she contemplated what to talk about next. The Gullwing had so many different buttons and controls on it, which all looked so complex in comparison to Lombardia, who did much of the work herself. "That all looks so complicated to me. You seem so at home with it." she commented.

"What? Flying? I have been doing it a lot over the last couple of years. It's a big part of my job right now actually. But it really is a lot more straightforward than it looks. Many of the controls here I don't even have to bother with most of the time. You can give it a try if you want." He offered.

"What? Oh no, no. Not right now." Virginia declined as she waved her hands in front of her in protest, "I am happy to just stick with what I know back home."

'And what would that be?"

"Well, we have a biomechanical dragon that we use to fly around in."

Rudy's jaw dropped in disbelief, "You have a dragon?!"

"Yup!" Virginia grinned. "She is the last one in Filgaia. She agreed to aid us after we proved our strength to her, and convinced her to fight for our cause."

"That's really cool!"

"Hehe, yeah I guess it is pretty cool. I will admit, I did enjoy some of the reactions we got from people when a dragon showed up outside their town and we got out of it. Gallows' younger brother was particularly amusing. He could barely contain himself. Especially when he got to ride in her with us once. But man, getting her was not easy. The fight was hard, sure. But the convincing part was even harder. Dragons can look right into a persons strength of heart and connect with it. They see past deception and dishonesty."

"Kind of like ARMs?" Rudy asked her.

"Hmmm, yeah I guess you could say that. Actually in my world, ARM is derived from the fossils of dragons. So I guess it would make sense that they share the ability to connect with a persons heart, since that is what it takes to use them."

"I noticed that you have two ARMs on you. Do you use both of them at the same time?" he asked her.

"Mmmhmm," she nodded. "It was actually my dad's technique. He was a drifter and ARM wielder. I inherited my abilities from him. He taught me how to shoot, and everything I know about ARM. After he left, I practiced really hard every day to be able to master handling two at once." she explained as she reached down, running her fingers across the grip of the revolver holstered on her right hip, "It's all I really have to remember him by now."

"Oh. Sorry to hear about that…" he frowned empathetically at her. "I can use and master any ARM in existence. But still, getting two to fire at once like that must take a lot of concentration."

"It does. I am well past the point now where I don't even have to think about it, I just do it. But still, getting to that point was difficult. There were many times I didn't think I would ever be able to do it. But each new morning, I would try again until eventually I got there… Oh!" she perked up as she looked out the window, "Looks like those are the mountains we were supposed to pass by. So I guess that means we are heading in the right direction."

"Uh huh," Rudy nodded.

"Wait a minute, what is all this blue? Is all of that water?!" Virginia gasped, putting her fingers over her lips as the mountainous landscape beneath them gave way to the vast Outer Ocean.

"Ummm… the ocean…" Rudy answered hesitantly, cocking his eyebrow as he gave her a baffled look.

Virginia gasped again. "An ocean! It's beautiful!" She exclaimed as she pressed herself against the window, taking in the sight.

"You've never seen an ocean before?" He asked her.

Virginia peeled herself away from the window and calmed herself, settling back into her seat as she regained her composure. "Well… I think I have. I just don't clearly remember it. You see, something very bad happened to our planet a long time ago, and it was actually my team that had to work to help fix it. But it caused all of our oceans and much of our greenery to disappear, leaving the whole planet barren, covered in dryness and sand. All the inhabitants of Filgaia lost their memories of what the planet looked like before." she looked over and noticed Rudy had a rather disturbed look on his face, upon hearing it, "Oh but they are coming back!" she quickly assured him, "We have been blessed with lots of rain and good crops over these past two years. Many people are working together to rejuvenate the planet now. Rivers and lakes are starting to appear again. Some of the deeper parts of the seas of sand are even starting to collect water too. But, wow… seeing an ocean like this is really amazing."

"That's… really… I don't know. Tragic…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"It is. But there is still hope. So everyone is trying really hard. And as desolate as things may be, Filgaia is still our home, so we need to do what we can to help it."

"Exactly." he agreed with her.

As Rudy and Virginia continued their conversation, Clive had just finished giving a similar, yet more detailed rendition of the story to Cecilia, Jack and Hanpan.

"So, wait a minute," Hanpan held up his paw as he thought, "if you had no water or greenery on your planet, how were you getting by? That hardly sounds sustainable."

"Truth be told, we barely were." Clive admitted, "My mentor and I feared that humanity was on the brink of extinction, caused by mass famines, which could have possibly given way to lawlessness and war. That is part of why I worked so tirelessly to track down its source and see if there wasn't some way it could be reversed."

"But you said things seem to be turning around now though, right?" Cecilia asked him.

Clive nodded, "They do. I only hope that it is not too late. I want desperately to believe that conditions will continue to improve for everyone, and especially for my children. Unfortunately though when you are a scientist, you have to approach things with a degree of skepticism, when the cold hard truths are staring you in the face."

"Ah, I just think you worry about everything too much." Gallows said as he clapped his companion on the shoulder, "I mean, do you really think the Guardians would just doom us all like that, especially after dragging our team all over the planet to fix those mistakes? I don't think so."

"I am a parent, Gallows. It is my duty as a father and scientist to worry about what kind of future my children are going to have. It's why I accepted this mission without hesitation. If something on this time plane has the ability to interfere with our Filgaia as well, then that is a threat to my family that I take seriously. Even if it means leaving them."

"Well, at least we are going to have a large, formidable team this time to deal with whatever the demons are plotting right now. Though, I am not sure if I should feel relieved about that, or more concerned, to be honest." Jack said.

"What do you mean?" Gallows asked him.

"Well, obviously I never go into anything expecting it to be a cake walk. But if the Guardians felt it necessary to send in this much firepower, it must be something pretty big that we are up against."

"Mmmm… cake." Cecilia's eyes glazed over as her stomach growled. "I am going to go and take a peak at those leftovers." she said as she got off her seat and walked over to where their gear was piled up.

"Maybe it is possible someone in our group has a particular skill or ability that the Guardians thought we might need." Gallows suggested.

"If that's they case, then why'd they send all four of us?" Jet asked.

"Uh, because we are a team and we stick together." Gallows answered matter of fact.

Clive rubbed at his chin pondering Gallows' suggestion for a moment, "Hmmm, it is hard to say at this point. I do imagine though that it is only a matter of time before our questions will be answered."

"Um, hey you guys…" Virginia's voice caught all of their attention. They all looked over to where she was standing in the doorway to the cockpit. "We've got a small problem."

Jack started up towards the cockpit, followed closely by Cecilia, who was munching away on a biscuit. Clive, Jet and Gallows filed behind them. "Damn it, Rudy. What did you break this time?" Jack teased as he walked up behind him and Virginia. Cecilia stood next to Jack and Clive squeezed into the small amount of space behind Virginia. Jet and Gallows hung back in the doorway.

"Nothing," he sighed at Jack's joke, "we are here, but we don't have any place to land."

"Woah, really?" Jack asked as he leaned over the dashboard and looked out the window. "Well… damn…"

"Oh no!" Cecilia frowned, "I did not even consider that as a possibility."

Rudy rubbed at the side of his face, "Neither did I," he said "but I am guessing this is the island we need. It is the only one I saw that looks like it has buildings on it. The others are all rocky and desolate."

"Wait, what about that beach down there?" Jack said, pointing in the direction of a small, patch of white sanded beach below them, "That looks like it might be big enough to land on."

"Jack, don't you remember what happened the last time you landed us on sand?" Hanpan asked him.

"Uhhh… maybe." he said as he scratched at the back of his head.

"The engine got so clogged that we almost didn't get this thing back off the ground!" Hanpan answered.

"I practically had to climb into the engines to dig the sand out of them…" Rudy reminded him.

Jack slapped the side of his right fist into the palm of his left hand as he recalled said event, "Oh, right! Yeah now I remember."

"So what does this leave our options at?" Clive asked.

"There is always the Sweet Candy." Cecilia suggested.

"That is what I was thinking too." Rudy nodded in agreement.

Virginia raised an eyebrow as she looked at them, "Sweet Candy? What's that?" she asked.

"An old friend of ours is the captain of a merchant ship. That is the name of it, The Sweet Candy." Cecilia explained. "Hopefully he can transport us to the island right away without too much inconvenience on his behalf."

"I feel like he _still_ owes us for some of the past shenanigans he has put us through." Hanpan grumbled, "Especially you Cecilia. I don't think all of the good karma in the world is going to ever clear him of that gaff."

Cecilia's cheeks turned red as Virginia and her teammates all eyed her curiously. "I-I don't see it that way. A lot of our previous mission would not even have been possible without his help. At this point I just consider it as favors between friends."

"Huh, if it were me, I would be milking it for all that it was worth." Hanpan retorted under his breath as he crossed his arms.

"Well great, it's settled then. Let's just get on the radio and get in touch with the good captain. Can you guys handle things from here?" He asked Rudy and Virginia. "Gah it is cramped with so many people in here." Jack said as he turned around to leave.

"Yes, we can handle it." Rudy answered back as Jack and the others began to leave the cockpit. "Well, he sails out of Timney, so I guess that is as good of a place as any to start heading." Rudy said aloud to himself as he reached over for the map, pulling it towards him. He then briefly looked over at Virginia, "Can you do me a favor?" He asked.

"Sure. Anything."

"That's our radio over in the corner there. The last button on the right is the frequency for the Sweet Candy. Push it, and then call and ask for Captain Bartholomew, please."

"Oh, um sure, okay. But I have never used one of these before." Virginia said, reaching over for the radio. She pressed the button for the Sweet Candy and picked up the microphone, bringing it towards her.

"Just press the button on the side when you are talking into it." Rudy instructed her as he began to alter their course to Port Timney, while double checking the map.

"Right, got it." she pressed the button and spoke in cautiously into the microphone. "Ummm, hello? I-Is anyone there? We are trying to reach Captain Bartholomew."

"Say over."

"Oh um… over…." She said before taking her finger off the button.

"Well, well, well, hello there little lady. This is the fine and mighty Captain Bartholomew speaking. What can I, uh, do for you today? Over." Came the captain's voice, trying a little too hard to sound suave.

"Umm, who exactly is this we are trying to get help from?" Virginia asked Rudy with uncertainty as she looked over at him.

"Sheesh…" Rudy sighed and shook his head, "I can take over from here." he offered as he held out his hand, Virginia passing him the microphone. "Hi there Captain, it's Rudy. Over."

"What?! Rudy?!" Captain Bart shouted, sounding less than pleased, "Were you just talking like a woman?"

"Wha-? No! That was a friend of mine…"

"Oh ho ho, I see how it is. Bait me in with a beautiful sounding woman because you were afraid I'd ignore your call, huh? Well aren't you just a sly one. Over." Captain Bart chuckled.

Virginia's jaw dropped as she glared over at Rudy, "You wouldn't…" she mouthed at him.

Rudy shook his head, waving a hand at her in protest. "No, I would never do anything like that. I just had her start the call while I was checking our map. Over."

"Yeah, yeah. If you say so. So what was it that you needed/ Over."

"We have a situation right now that has us in need of Sea transportation right away. Are you able to offer us a hand? Over."

Captain Bart loudly gave an annoyed sounding sigh, "Should have known that the moment I get a break in my schedule, something like this would come up. Very well. We just docked at Timney a little bit ago, so head on over. Over."

"Great, thank you so much, Captain. We will be there before evening. I'll explain everything then. Oh and just a heads up, we are bringing a much larger group than usual. Over."

"No worries. We've got plenty of room. See you all soon. Over and out." Captain Bart said before he hung up.

Rudy passed the microphone back over to Virginia to set aside. "We've got a few hours until we get to Timney, so you may want to go and eat something." he suggested to her as he began the long flight West.

* * *

 **Authors Note: Good 'ol Captain Bart. I just had to drag him back in to this. Many of our old friends will be making appearances throughout. Don't forget to check back in a few days for the next chapter. It just so happens to involve some romance, and Valentines day was close enough, so I figured I'd run with it.**


	6. Chapter 6: Final Team Mate

**Author's note: Happy Valentines Day from yours truly. As a special treat, I've expedited these last couple of chapters in order to bring this to you on this day. As stated in the summary on chapter one, this story contains two eventual pairings. I think I've built up enough tension between the involved characters, and now it is about time for one of those pairings to finally become realized. This chapter is a long one, but it covers a decent amount of ground, and reads at a good pace. So enjoy. :)**

* * *

It took several hours for them to finally reach the town of Port Timney. At some point during the flight, Cecilia and Rudy swapped off so that he could take a break and get something to eat. Virginia stayed up front with Cecilia so that the two of them could "girl talk". The shear amount of giggling that kept erupting from the cockpit though was drawing concern from some their male companions, whom they banished from trying to listen in.

Port Timney was situated on a peninsula that jutted out into the Inner Sea. The bustling town served as the largest trading hub in Filgaia. It was always crawling with sailors, merchants, wanderers, and traders from all over the globe. The town also hosted an equally busy night life, which came hand in hand with the sort of clientele it drew in. The members of Virginia's team were fascinated with the sights around them as they followed Team Roughnight through town towards the docks. Along the sidewalks, vendors hollered out to them, and other passers by alike, trying to draw prospective buyers over to look at their wares.

"I feel bad just hurrying past people like this." Virginia mumbled with a frown as she hurried past heavily cloaked elderly woman with several golden hoop earnings, who was fervently trying to capture her attention.

"Trust me it's best to just keep walking and not make eye contact." Jack explained, "Don't get me wrong, this is a great place to shop if you need something. But we're in a hurry, and these guys don't exactly take 'no' for an answer. But that's how they keep their business."

"They uh… sure do like their pubs here." Gallows pointed out as he glanced around, noticing the numerous drinking establishments that lined the streets in between all of the various shops.

"It does kind of reminds me of Jolly Roger, except much livelier… and with water." Virginia added in.

They made their way to the far East side of town. As they rounded a corner, the expansive harbor came into view, and along with it an oppressively heavy, sulfuric stench in the air. There were about a half dozen ships large ships moored down along the docks. On most of them sailors and dock workers were busy loading or unloading cargo.

"Ugh, the smell," Jet groaned, pulling his red scarf up over his nose, as they walked down the cobblestone path towards the docks, "what in the hell is that?"

"Oh, that would be low tide," Hanpan answered him as he waved a paw in front of his own nose. "it gets better when the tide comes back in."

"It better. This place reeks like death and piss." Jet grumbled.

They continued down the worn cobble stone path which led downhill to the harbor. A pair of visibly intoxicated sailors stumbled past them. One of them accidentally bumping into Virginia while going to opposite way. "Oy! S-so ssshorry about that miss!" he slurred, turning around to apologize. His eyes widened as he made eye contact with her, "Oh my Guardiansh! You are the mosh beautiful woman I haf ever sheen! How long are you schtickin' in town for cutie?" he asked her with a wink.

Virginia's face went beet red as she stood frozen in place, unsure of how to respond to the sailor flashing her a flirtatious grin.

The sailors' companion back handed him across his arm, "Oy! What the hell, Hubert?! You're married! Ugh, my apologies miss." the second sailor apologized to Virginia, before giving his friend an annoyed sigh, "This one gets a little too friendly when he's had too much to drink." he said with a nod in the man's direction.

"My wife don' gotta know nuthin!" The first sailor protested as his friend took him by the arm and led him away.

"Well Ginny, aren't you popular?" Gallows nudged at her with a dopey grin spread across his face, wiggling an eyebrow at her.

"W-whatever!" she stammered, "It's not like he stood a chance anyway." she said definitively as she tossed some stray hairs out of her face and continued on down the path, the others following along with her.

Once they made it on to the docks; Cecilia, Jack, Hanpan and Rudy looked around for the Sweet Candy. This was easier said than done. Most of the ships looked very much alike, and the names painted on several of them were well worn, courtesy of the harsh elements and sea water.

"Hey, that looks like it all the way at the end!" Cecilia pointed with on hand, shielding the bright mid-afternoon sun out of her eyes with the other.

"That's it!" Jack nodded, "Alright, let's go then." He fell into step next to Cecilia as they started walking towards the ship, "Hey, Princess," he gently nudged her with his elbow, "looking forward to seeing your 'husband' again after all this time?"

Cecilia's feet skidded to a halt. She stomped her foot, thrusting her fisted hands down to her sides. "That's not even funny, Jack!" she scolded him, her face turning pink with embarrassment.

Virginia gasped loudly, "Cecilia, you didn't tell me you were married!" she practically squealed.

"Ugh! That is because I am not!" Cecilia growled through gritted teeth, "And I never have been. It's just… Oh never mind." She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared over at Jack, "Why would you even bring that up like this?"

"Because it was hilarious!" he grinned devilishly at her.

"Yeah, it pretty much was. Sorry Cecilia." Hanpan agreed with him.

Cecilia looked over and noticed Virginia and Co. eyeing her with confused expressions painted on their faces, "Just ignore those two…" Cecilia ordered them. "Come on, let's get going." she huffed as she brushed past Jack, taking the lead as she started marching off towards the Sweet Candy, the others following along behind her.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't our favorite band o' wanderers!" a sailor with shoulder length dark brown hair, tied back into a pony-tail, greeted them. He leaned casually against a pylon as he took a long drag of the cigarette pinched between his thumb and forefingers, finishing it off. "The Capt'n told us he was expectin' ya. Y'all can head on aboard and wait on deck. Imma gonna go fetch 'im for ya." With that he turned his head away from them, and blew a puff of smoke into the air as he flicked the cigarette butt from his fingers into the water, which was littered with several other cigarette and cigar butts. He turned and lead the group up the ramp to the deck of the Sweet Candy, "Capt'n will be right with ya." he said over his shoulder as he disappeared through the door that lead below deck.

"This is absolutely incredible!" Clive said with wide eyed amazement as he looked around at the ship, "Simply fascinating…"

"Yeah, ships are kind of cool," Jack shrugged, "fighting on them can be a real bitch though. Lets just hope the sea monsters don't give us too much grief this time."

"Wait, the ship doesn't fight the monsters?" Gallows asked, furrowing his brows.

"Nah. This particular ship usually sails in much calmer waters, and the monsters that occasionally attack there are not really a problem. However, where we are going is in the Outer Ocean. Annnd let's just say that the monsters out there are a _little_ less friendly. These sailors are not really equipped for fighting them, so depending on our luck, we may have our work cut out for us." Jack explained.

"Well we've got more than enough people. So it really shouldn't be too much of a problem then, should it?" Jet said pointedly.

"You've finally made it!" an obnoxiously loud mans voice boomed at them, "Long time no see my good friends! Long time no see!" Everyone looked over to see Captain Bartholomew walking towards them.

"Captain! Good to see you again." Rudy greeted him as he offered the captain his hand.

"Likewise." Captain Bart said as he heartily shook Rudy's hand. "Rudy, my boy, have you gotten a hell of a lot taller, or have my worst nightmares come true and I'm shrinking?"

"Uh… just taller." Rudy answered awkwardly, internally disliking the fact that the captain was making a fuss over his recent height gain, just like Jack did earlier.

The captain turned his attention towards Cecilia and Jack, "Cecilia, you are looking as lovely as ever." he complimented her.

"Thank you. I do hope that you are doing well." Cecilia replied politely as she folded her hands in front of her waist and bowed slightly.

"Oh, I'm as good as can be expected for a lonely old sea dog," Captain Bart nodded, "and Jack, how are you doing? Still seeing Rose? Hanpan, doing well?" He said as he regarded Jack and Hanpan.

Jack nodded, "Yup. Doing good. Still with Rose."

"I am still hanging around with this loser, so call that what you will." Hanpan joked.

"Very good, very good," Captain Bart nodded. "And who might you all be?" He asked turning towards the rest of the group.

Virginia stepped forward to the captain, offering him a handshake. "Hi, nice to meet you. I am Virginia Maxwell. This is my team," she continued as she motioned with her other hand towards the three men standing behind her, "Clive Winslett, Jet Enduro and Gallows Carradine." Each of the men nodding as she said their respective names.

"Very, _very_ pleased to make _your_ acquaintance, miss." Captain Bart gushed, taking her hand in his and bringing it towards his lips, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. "Might you be the beauty who called me on my radio earlier today?" he asked her as he raised his eyebrows, giving her a flirtatious smile.

"Uhhh…" Virginia tensed up, gritting her teeth as she raised her eyebrows with uncertainty, her free hand clenching into a ball by her cheek. She did not want to be rude and jerk her hand away, but she could not help but feel very creeped out by the captain's forwardness.

Jack groaned as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Cool it captain, she is older than the Princess, and even less likely to take any shit from you." he said with an air of derision, shaking his head.

Captain Bart released Virginia's hand as he glared over at Jack, "I was just being polite!" he glowered. He then straightened himself up as he looked over the entire group. "Welcome aboard my beautiful Sweet Candy. So what has you coming to me in need of sea transport, rather than relying on that fancy flying death trap of yours?"

As Rudy and his group began to explain the details of their mission to the captain, Virginia retreated a few steps back into the safety of her own group.

"Lemme know if you want any help burning your glove later." Jet offered, whispering to her out of the side of his mouth.

"I'm thinking about it…" she replied under her breath.

Gallows leaned forward over Virginia's shoulder, "I don't know what's up with that guy, but I take back my joke earlier about you being popular around here. Now I just kinda feel bad about sayin' it." Gallows quietly apologized to her.

Captain Bart clapped his hands together loudly, getting everyone's attention, "Alright then, it's settled. As soon as the tide starts to comes back in, we will head off. You have about an hour until then. So go ahead and get any food and supplies you may need from town and be back here by…" he looked down at his watch, "oh…5 o'clock should do. That will make sure we can get under way on time."

* * *

The Sweet Candy galloped swiftly across the vastness of the Inner Sea. From time to time, migratory birds would stop to rest their wings on the tall masts of the vessel, taking breaks from their long flight from one land mass to the other. On the deck and up in the rigging, the crew called out orders to each other, in a language not known by many outside the realm of the sea man. Finally, after several adjustments were made to the sails, the ship was on full course to the Sea Dragon's Strait, which led to the Outer Ocean, and beyond that, their destination.

Captain Bartholomew approached Jack, Hanpan and Rudy, who were standing together on the deck, by the door to the main cabin. "By my calculations, we should reach the island by early afternoon tomorrow." he informed them. "It should be a rather easy trip. Especially with the wind being in our favor. Hopefully this wind will keep the monsters at bay as well."

"Thanks, we'll let the others know." Jack responded as Bartholomew parted ways to go and speak with his first mate.

Hanpan leapt up to Jack's shoulder as they headed over to where Cecilia was tending to the rest of the group, Clive, Gallows and Virginia were sitting on the small landing up at the bow. Not accustomed to sea travel, they weren't taking to the constant rocking and swaying of the ship very well. Cecilia knelt down next to Virginia, and gently rested her hand on the brunette's shoulder, "Just try to keep your head between your knees and breathe easy. You should get used to it eventually. If not… well the railing is right over there…"

"Okay…" Virginia groaned, her chin tucked into her chest as she hunched over, holding her stomach.

"Takes some getting used to, doesn't it?" Jack asked as he approached them, Rudy in tow.

Clive stood up, wobbly at first. He put his arms out to his sides to help himself keep his balance. "I think I should be fine now. You're right, it does indeed take some adjusting to"

Jet was the only one in their group who did not seem to be affected. He leaned casually against the ships railing near the rest of the group. "It don't seem to bother me at all." he shrugged.

"Count yourself lucky then, punk." Gallows grumbled, his normally dark complexion was now almost as pale as a white sheet. He was also hunched over with his head by his knees, his large hands clutching as his stomach. "Ugh…" he groaned, trying his hardest not to vomit.

"Hmph." Jet grunted, closing his eyes and looking away.

"Don't feel too embarrassed about it. The Princess didn't do well her first few times at sea either. Once on a 3 hour trip she must have gotten sick at least a dozen times." Jack chuckled.

Cecilia snapped her head over her shoulder and glared at him, "I told you that was not sea sickness, it was because of my per-"

"Don't wanna hear it!" Jack raised a hand, cutting her off. Cecilia scowled in return. "Anyways, the captain said we should arrive at our destination by about noon tomorrow." he informed them.

"The sooner the better." Gallows groaned.

Suddenly Virginia jumped up and dashed to the railing of the boat, heaving over the side of it. Cecilia started to head off towards Virginia to see if she was alright. Jack grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. "Maybe you should give her some space, Princess."

"You're right… I just wish there was more I could do to help." Cecilia sighed.

"She'll be fine," Clive said as he adjusted his glasses, "Virginia always manages to bounce back from everything without missing a beat. Now if you'll excuse me, I am most interested in seeing the engine room of this vessel." he started off towards the cabin, stumbling at the doorway as the ship made a sudden upward pitch.

Cecilia's stomach growled loudly just then, causing her to put her hand over her abdomen as her cheeks turned slightly pink with embarrassment.

"Guess that means it's dinner time?" Hanpan asked her.

"Sounds like it." Jack nodded. "You can always trust Cecilia's stomach to tell you when it is time to eat." he teased her.

"Ughhh… Don't mention food..." groaned Gallows, "For the love of the Guardians do NOT mention food."

"Maybe you should just go and lie down," Cecilia suggested to him. "that might help you feel better. Or at least it has helped me in the past."

"Yeah, ok. That sounds like a good idea." Gallows said, weakly. "Where are we sleeping again?"

Rudy and Jack stepped up and helped Gallows to his feet. "We decided to give the Cecilia and Virginia the guest room, since our last companion is also a girl, so she can join them on the return trip. Some of the sailors offered to make another room available for you three next to that one. Jack and I are going to bunk in a room with a couple of the sailors." Rudy explained as he and Jack helped Gallows amble his way across the deck towards the cabin door.

"I think I am going to go and try laying down for a little while too if that's ok," Virginia said as she shuffled her way over towards everyone else. "but first, Cecilia could you please show me to the bathroom so that I can wash up?"

"Yes, of course." Cecilia said as she and Virginia headed through the cabin door.

"I am all about gettin' some food." Jet said, following along after them, "I got me some canned peaches and I can't wait to have at 'em."

"I said not to mention food!" Gallows growled at Jet, as Jack and Rudy led him through the cabin door.

Later on after dinner, everyone went on separate ways to enjoy the rest of the evening. Jack and Clive stayed down in the Galley, chatting over drinks with a couple of off duty sailors. Gallows decided to skip out on dinner altogether, and remained in bed for the night, since he still was not feeling well. Jet stood alone towards the stern of the boat. Rudy, Cecilia, and Virginia, who was finally starting to feel better, stood together at the port side railing of the ship, chatting away with each other. Beyond them the sun had started it's decent behind the horizon. Hues of red, gold, and pink painted a beautiful mosaic across the sky. The wind had begun to blow at a steady gust, carrying a salty mist along with it.

Virginia giggled profusely as Cecilia and Rudy recounted to her the tale of the fake wedding they once had to participate in aboard the Sweet Candy two years prior. Her hand was over her mouth as her shoulder shook, as she tried to keep herself from laughing too loudly.

"Right? So there I was, all of these people staring at me, and he leans in for a kiss!" Cecilia explained, her eyes twinkling in the sunset as she told her story. "I wanted to throw the bouquet in his face and run away, but I didn't want to blow his cover, so I stood there, completely frozen. All of a sudden, a demon appears out of nowhere, and breaks the whole thing up before anything could happen. And honestly, I actually felt relieved for the first and only time in my life to see a demon."

"Oh my goodness! But hey, at least he prevented you from spoiling your first kiss, right?" Virginia grinned.

Cecilia giggled, "Hehe, yes. That is the way I see it. Things like that are supposed to be saved for someone special." she blushed.

"Well geez, I didn't realize that kissing me was worse than fighting demons." A voice from behind them caused them all to jump.

Cecilia spun around to see Captain Bartholomew standing behind her, his arms folded behind his back. "Oh my!" she gasped as her hand covered her mouth, "My apologies Captain. I did not realize you were right there." Cecilia folded her hands in front of her waist and bowed with her apology.

"Clearly." he responded indignantly.

"I did not mean it like that though. What I meant was-"

"No no, there is no need to apologize. That whole thing was a bad idea from the start" Captain Bart said as he stepped up next to them and leaned his forearms into the railing. He let out a deep sigh as he looked off into the distance. "You know, it is beautiful sights such as this that make the hard life at sea so worth it."

"It is a remarkable view." Virginia nodded in agreement, "I feel like it just goes on forever and ever. Sadly, we just don't get sights like this back home."

Captain Bart looked over at the three, "You know, the best place to view this from is up in the crows nest."

"Really?" Cecilia perked up, "Come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever been up there."

"Oh yeah," Captain Bartholomew nodded, "up there you can see for miles. You know, back in my youth I used to take girls up there all the time to show off the view from my ship. Made me very popular with the ladies back in the day." he said with a wink.

"I thought you were afraid of heights though." Cecilia pointed out to him.

"Oh, well yeah, sure I am not fond of them. But a brave sea captain can't be afraid of his own ship now, can he?"

Cecilia scratched as her chin as she titled her head to the side, "Hmm, yeah I guess not. So, do you mind if we go and see it from up there? I would really like to see more of this magnificent sunset." she asked him with a hopeful smile.

"Not at all," the captain responded. "we don't need to use the crows nest again until it gets a little darker out, so you three go on and enjoy yourselves. Just mind your step on the ladder. It's a long way down if you fall."

Cecilia looked over at Rudy and Virginia, "Would you two like to go and watch the sunset with me?" she asked them.

"Umm, alright sure! It sounds fun." Virginia agreed, "But where is the crows nest?"

Rudy pointed to a small, circular wooden platform all the way at the top of the ships main mast. "That's it up there." he answered.

Virginia felt her stomach turn as she eyed it wearily. Being the highest point, every single little nudge and wobble of the ship would be felt far greater up there, and the increasing wind was causing the seas to become quite rough. "On second thought, I think I'll pass. I really would hate to risk losing what little dinner I've managed to eat."

"Oh are you sure?" Cecilia asked as the corners of her lips twitched into a slight frown.

"Yeah I am sure. Actually, I think I am going to go check in on Gallows and make sure he is doing alright." Virginia bid them goodbye as she headed off towards the cabin.

Cecilia looked over at Rudy, "How about you, Rudy? Would you like to go up there with me?" She invited him.

He nodded, "Sure. I've never been up there, either."

"Alright then. Thank you very much Captain. We won't be long." Cecilia thanked him before she and Rudy started off towards the main mast.

Captain Bart chuckled to himself, watching the two of them walk away, "Aww, now isn't that just cute?"

"You can go up first." Cecilia offered once they reached the mast, "I know that you would not ever dare to in a million years, but… I _am_ wearing a skirt." she grimaced.

"Oh, right. Of course." Rudy said as he cheeks turned slightly pink. "I'll go ahead and go first then."

He took hold of the ladder and started ascending up the mast, Cecilia following right behind him. The wind was greater the further up they went. The rocking and pitching of the ship exacerbated with height. Once Rudy reached the bottom of the crows nest, he reached up and pushed the metal hinged wooden hatch open, pulling himself up through the opening. He stepped off onto the wooden platform that circumferenced the mast, and offered his hand to Cecilia, helping her step onto the platform with him. Once they were both situated, he slid the toe of his boot under the small wooden door and used his foot to swing it closed.

Looking around, Cecilia let out a loud gasp, "Oh my…Captain Bartholomew was right, it is so beautiful up here!" she hugged on to the mast with one arm to make herself feel more secure. "Very windy though!" she laughed, having to talk over the wind whipping through her hair.

"Just a little bit." Rudy joked with her, "Whoa!" he shouted as he quickly shot his hand out, catching her red headband as it blew right out of her hair. "Phew, got it." He smiled as he handed it back to her.

"Oh thank you!" Cecilia took it from him, and tucked it in her coat pocket. "I think maybe I should just leave it off for now. I would hate to lose it." Tentatively, she mustered her courage and let go of the mast to take a step forward. The moment she did, the ship dropped as it went through a trough in the waves. "Eeeek!" she squealed, death gripping back on to the mast.

"Are you trying to get over to the rail?" Rudy asked, looking over at her.

"I would like to, yes." Cecilia said as she straightened herself back up, trying to relax her nerves.

"Here," Rudy offered her his hand, "We'll go together."

"A-alright." Cecilia swallowed a lump in her throat as she reached out and took his hand. He slowly coaxed her away from the mast and led her over to the railing of the crows nest.

"See, that wasn't so bad." he said, releasing her hand and placing both of his on the railing as they both looked out over the ocean.

Cecilia brushed her windswept hair out of her face, "I don't know how you always manage to be so brave like that." she said, pursing her lips together as she clutched tightly on to the railing next to him.

Rudy shrugged, "I wouldn't really call it brave. I just figure if the sailors do it all day every day, then can up here really be that much more dangerous than anything I've ever done? And I always have been really comfortable with heights. My grandpa used to tell me that even when I was little, I always had to be climbing up on something." he explained.

"Hmm. I guess that logic makes sense. And now that I am getting used to it, it really is not all that bad. Normally heights don't bother me either. I think it is just the wind and rough seas. But still, this view is worth it." Cecilia smiled as she continued to watch the sun set. After a long pause, she began to speak again, "Soon it will be night time. And then morning. By this time tomorrow we will have hopefully recruited our final team mate, and be able to finally get our mission started. To be honest, I am really excited. I can't help but wonder who the Guardians are trying to send to us. But I trust in them. So I know it is going to be worth while. I mean, they seem to have sent us a very capable team so far. So this should be no different, right?"

Rudy nodded, "I am really anxious to find out too. But like you said, I will trust the Guardians, and whoever it is they are sending us to."

Cecilia turned towards her companion, "It's all so exciting isn't it? Going on another adventure to save Filgaia, with all of these new allies, too. You know, as much as I hate to admit it, for quite some time I have been secretly hoping for at least one more grand adventure. But just like last time, we'll pull through… won't we Rudy?"

"Definitely." Rudy answered, momentarily letting go of the railing as he faced her. As he did so, the Sweet Candy suddenly heaved as it crashed through a large wave, causing him to lose his balance. He stumbled right into Cecilia, pinning her against the rail of the crows nest. The two of them stared at each other in shock for several moments, bodies pressed up firmly against one another, their faces only inches apart, before it set in that they were in a rather compromising position. Rudy gasped as he jumped back, "Sorry! I'm so sorry!" he apologized quickly, running his hands through his hair as his cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson.

"It's alright… it wasn't your fault." Cecilia said as she straightened herself up, and brushed some stray strands of hair away from her own blushing face.

A long, awkward silence separated them as the two stood next to each other, shyly looking away from one another. Rudy looked up towards the sky, biting his lower lip as he tried to overcome the thick tension that had settled between them. He knew that he had some deep seated feelings that he needed to get resolved, and he was not sure how much longer he would be able to go on keeping everything bottled up like this. The last thing he would ever want to do would be to damage his close friendship with Cecilia. But he also knew deep down that it would not take much more until he might inadvertently start distancing himself from her, in an effort to avoid awkward moments such as this, which only grew more and more numerous as time went on. The way he figured, the night was going to either end on a very high note, or perhaps he would end up wrecking a perfectly pleasant evening, with plenty of residual after effect lasting into the better part of their mission. He closed his eyes, silently saying a quick prayer to the Guardians that it ended up being the former, as he mentally prepared himself to lay his cards out on the table. Rudy drew in a deep breath as he looked over at his closest friend. "Cecilia," he said her name firmly, "we really need to talk."

Cecilia gazed up at him, noticing that he had a rather serious expression on his face, the likes of which she had not seen him make in quite some time. This caused a knot to start forming in the pit of her stomach. "Of course. Is something the matter?" she asked.

Rudy opened his mouth to talk, then paused briefly to organize his thoughts before continuing. "Do you remember, after defeating the demons, the day you surprised Jack and I by rejoining us to travel Filgaia? How that evening, I told you about my feelings for you? You told me that things were complicated, and the time was not right. But that night, you never actually told me how you felt."

Cecilia inhaled sharply "Rudy, I…"

He held his hand up to her and continued, "I let it go from that point and figured whatever it was, you had your reasons. But, then there was that time this past fall while we were visiting Jane. I went to help her gather apples with the kids while you took a nap, and you got so inexplicably upset with me over it. Then you started talking about how Jane would be a better match for me. When I tried to ask you if you had feelings for me, you avoided the topic. And again I decided to let it go.

Cecilia cast her eyes downward, glancing at the toes of her boots, "S-sorry…" She stammered. An uneasy feeling was quickly welling up inside of her, causing her stomach to flutter inside.

There was something else that he needed to confess to her finally, something that he had carried in secret inside of himself for so long. He cleared his throat before proceeding, "Cecilia, there is something I've never told you, and the reason is because you asked me not to," he nervously rubbed at the back of his neck, "but… I remember the dream from two years ago. I saw you fight that dream demon to save me… and… I heard your confession."

Cecilia's head snapped up, her eyes went wide as they met with his, "You… you knew about all of that? All this time?"

He nodded, "To be honest, I was relieved at first. Hearing that you felt the same way for me as I did for you. I just didn't know how to go about expressing any of that to you at the time, given everything else that was already going on."

"And then when you finally did, I turned you down." Cecilia looked away and bit her lower lip, "I'm so sorry."

"Cecilia, I am not bitter or angry about any of it. I just want you to be honest with me about your feelings." he said as he gave her a hopeful look.

Cecilia hesitated, drawing in a shaky breath. "I truly am sorry Rudy… I never would have wanted to hurt you, or to confuse you like that. It is just that… things were complicated at the time- they still are. For a long time I had to push my feelings for you aside, and force myself to see you as just a close friend. What with you still being young, and me being royalty, It was complicated and I was afraid that if you were involved with me, you might get hurt somehow. Being with me won't ever be simple or easy, because of what I am. I just wanted to protect you from all of that. I felt like maybe… maybe with Jane it would have been-"

Rudy smiled gently and shook his head, "I've told you before, I've never had feelings for Jane in that way. She and I are just friends. Cecilia… a lot has changed over these last couple of years. I am not a kid any more, and I promise that no matter what happens, I can handle it. If you want to just remain friends, then I promise you that I'll accept that. I would never want to lose you as a friend. But, I just can't help but feel that there is something so much more between us, and until I hear it from you, then I am going to be stuck feeling that way. So please, tell me how you really feel."

Cecilia swallowed nervously as she turned to face him. She reached out and took his right hand in both of hers. "Rudy… I love you…" she blushed looking deep into his eyes, "and I have for a very long time." her blush deepened. She closed her eyes and leaned in, gently pressing her lips against his cheek.

Rudy closed his eyes turning his face so that instead it was his lips that were against hers. Cecilia's eyes fluttered open from surprise, her grip on his hand loosening. He freed his hand from hers and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into him. After overcoming the initial shock, Cecilia closed her eyes again and returned his kiss, placing her hands on the sides of his shoulders. They heard cheers and clapping coming from below them on ship. Snapping back to reality the startled couple broke apart and looked down to see Virginia, Jack, Hanpan, Captain Bartholomew, and several of the sailors standing on deck, cheering them on.

Cecilia's face turned bright red with embarrassment. "Oh Guardians!" she squealed as she buried her face into Rudy's chest, "I had no idea we had an audience!"

Rudy laughed nervously. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "It is getting late, maybe we should head back down." he suggested.

Cecilia shook her head against him. "I don't want this moment to end, not just yet. Also, I am not ready for everyone to be poking fun at us."

"Oy lovebirds!" one of the sailors hollered up to them, "We'll be needing that crows nest back now, unless you want us to hit something and crash the ship in the dark!"

The two released each other. "Looks like the decision has been made for us," Cecilia frowned, "if you don't mind, I think I am going to head straight to bed. I want to be ready bright and early for tomorrow."

Rudy nodded, "That would probably be for the best."

One after the other, they made the climb down to the ships deck, to the cheering and jeering from their friends and the sailors. "See, I knew you had it in ya!" Jack said as he clapped Rudy on the shoulder.

Rudy laughed nervously as he rubbed at the back of his head, unsure of how to respond. Cecilia suddenly reached over and took his other hand, quickly leading him away from the crowd and towards the ships cabin.

"Hey now, I have a rule on this ship! No frisky business!" Captain Bartholomew called out after them as the two disappeared behind the cabin door.

Once they were on the other side of the door, Cecilia leaned against it as she exhaled loudly. "Well that is about what I expected. But still, I don't think tonight could have gone any better." she said as she smiled over at Rudy.

"I had no idea how any of that was going to go. But I'll take it." he said as he looked over at her, smiling. "Here," he said as he offered out his hand to her. "I'll walk you back to your room."

"Aww! Why thank you!" Cecilia grinned from ear to ear, unable to contain her giddiness as she took his hand. How it felt so good for her to be able to hold his hand like that as they walked side by side down the ships main corridor.

Once they reached the door to Cecilia and Virginia's room, they turned to face each other. Cecilia quickly glanced up and down the hallway before she spoke. "I was wondering… if perhaps we could give that kiss another try?" She asked as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"I would love nothing better." Rudy said, also blushing. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

Cecilia draped her arms over his shoulders as they both leaned in. The moment their lips met, a door closed somewhere behind them in the hallway, followed by approaching footsteps. Jet, on his way back from the restroom, cleared his throat loudly in annoyance, sidling his way past the lip locked duo standing in the middle of the narrow hallway. He entered into the next room, which he shared with Clive and Gallows, slamming the door behind him. The muffled sound of Gallows shouting at him for slamming the door, and the argument that ensued could be heard coming from the other side of it.

Cecilia snorted as she pulled away from Rudy, breaking down into a fit of laughter, "Ah, we just can't catch a break tonight, can we?" she giggled, wiping away a tear from under her eye.

Rudy shook his head, "Welcome to the hell that is my bad luck." He chuckled.

Cecilia leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his cheek. "… Well, good night then, see you in the morning." she said as she smiled at him sweetly, before turning and heading into her room.

Rudy bid his new girlfriend goodnight before heading off to his own room, doing a small happy dance along the way.

* * *

The next morning, Clive and Rudy were the first ones to wake up. They sat across from one another at the large wooden table in the empty galley, talking over tea. A short while passed by before Cecilia and Virginia walked together.

"Morning." Clive said once he saw the two of them enter.

Rudy turned and looked behind him to see who entered, "Hey." he greeted the pair, blushing slightly as he briefly locked eyes with Cecilia. This caused her blush in return, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She rounded the table and made her way to the counter where Clive and Rudy had already taken the liberty of laying out the assortment of breakfast foods their group brought along for the voyage.

Virginia yawned sleepily, stretching her hands over her head as she walked towards the table. "Good morning. Erm… sorry, I didn't sleep too well." she said, her voice still groggy. She headed over to Clive and took up the seat next to him, "So, where is everybody else?"

"Well, the sailors are already attending to their duties, Gallows is refusing to get out of bed until he can 'put his feet on solid ground', and Jet was still asleep last I knew." Clive explained.

"I'm pretty sure Jack is still sleeping too." Rudy added in.

"Jack sleeping in, what a surprise." Cecilia said sarcastically as she approached the table. She carried a plate towering with an assortment of the sweet breads and jelly rolls she and Virginia insisted upon buying for the trip. She sat down next to Rudy, setting the plate on the table between Virginia and herself. "Here, help yourself."

"Thanks!" Virginia smiled. Her eyes quickly scanned over the pile of sweets before deciding on a nice, fat, sugar-coated strawberry jam filled roll.

"Thank you, but I have already helped myself to a bagel this morning." Clive said apologetically as he wearily eyed the tower of sweets that was rocking precariously with the sway of the ship.

Cecilia frowned, her eyes glancing over the plate in front of her, "Umm, I actually already assumed that, and took these for me… and some for Virginia too." she deflated.

"Oh! My apologies! Clive said quickly as his face reddened slightly, "It is just that… ah…never mind. It was wrong of me to assume." he said as he rubbed at the back of his head.

Rudy chuckled under his breath and knowingly shook his head, having seen this scenario play out many times before by now.

"Look," Cecilia flared up, causing Clive to be taken aback, "spell casting requires a lot of energy! So I eat a lot! Just ask any crest sorcerer, we all have a big appetite!"

"Sorry…" Clive apologized again, this time more apprehensively. "I did not mean you any insult."

"No, no. I'm the one who should apologize." Cecilia pouted, furrowing her brows, "I completely overreacted. It is just that… Jack is always making fun of me over how much I eat, and… I get a little sensitive." her face still flushed with embarrassment.

As if on cue, Jack waltzed into the Galley and saw the towering plate of sweets sitting in front of Cecilia, "Geez Princess, did you save any for the rest of us?"

"You jerk!" Cecilia cried as she grabbed a jelly roll and lobbed it across the room at him.

Jack put his hand up, swiping the jelly roll out of mid air. "Hey thanks!" he said as he took a large bite out of it, "How did you guess strawberry is my favorite?" He teased her. He crossed the room, taking a seat on the other side of Rudy and glanced over at a brooding Cecilia. "Calm down Princess it was only a joke. I heard you guys from outside the door, and couldn't resist."

"Still does not change the fact that you're a jerk…" Cecilia continued to pout.

Hanpan hopped down from Jacks shoulder and headed over to the plate of sweets. He began to scout for which one would be safest to take, without toppling the pile on top of himself. "Cecilia, you know well enough by now that Jack has the emotional depth of a teaspoon, so stop letting him get to you. Besides… we have more… pressing… matters at hand." He grunted as he removed a sweet bun from the pile. "Ah, there are!" he said once he finally freed it. He carried his bun over to an empty space at the table and began to eat. "I just can't stop thinking about what kind of ally the Guardians are leading us too. And I have also been wondering how we are supposed to convince her to join us. I don't think showing up at somebody's door step and announcing 'Hey the Guardians sent us to pick you up. So pack your bags and come join 7 strangers and a talking mouse on their deadly adventure to save the world.' is going to do the trick."

"Actually, that's more or less exactly what I had planned on doing." Jack said as he scratched the back of his head.

Clive sighed, rested his forehead on his hand, contemplating their predicament. "No, Hanpan is correct. This whole thing sounds outlandish, even to me still. Imagine how an outsider to our cause would view all of this."

"I think if we just be honest about the situation, then maybe she will be understanding to our cause." Virginia chimed in, "Who knows, maybe it will even be easy. Fate works in mysterious ways. It brought all of us together after all."

"You have a valid point." Clive responded, "Fate may just have a hand in this after all. With every thing that we have seen and been though, it is hard to chalk anything up to mere coincidence at this point."

"Yo…" Jet's voice coming from the doorway interrupted their conversation, "The weird captain guy just told me to tell you that we're near the island, so get ready to head to shore." He announced upon entering the galley.

"Damn, that was a fast trip," Jack commented, "and we didn't get attacked by anything this whole time either."

"Indeed. That is rather lucky for us." Hanpan nodded, "We must have had some tailwind overnight. Well, I guess it means that we are going to get our answer as to how this is all going to pan out really soon."

Clive stood up, taking his empty teacup over to the sink to wash out. Once he was done he stopped by the table on his way to the door. "I'd best go inform Gallows and get prepared."

"I'll go with you." Virginia said as she stood up, grabbing a second roll to eat on the way.

Together she and Clive left to go and prepare for the next phase of their mission. Jet slumped down in the seat Clive vacated, and rested his elbows on the table, his fingers massaging at his temples.

"Did you not sleep very well?" Cecilia asked him.

"Who could sleep with all of this damned rocking, groaning and creaking?" Jet grumbled.

Jack shrugged, "It does take some getting used to. Anyway, if you want anything to eat, better do it now." He suggested as she slid the plate of sweets over towards Jet.

Once breakfast was over, and their gear was collected, their group began to assemble on the deck of the Sweet Candy. Gusty winds continued to rock the ship as the waters chopped around them. The sun was out for the time being, but clouds could be seen gathering far off in the horizon.

Much to Gallows' disappointment, the Sweet Candy was anchored about 200 yards offshore from the rocky coast of the island. "Wait a minute! Why're we still so far? I thought we were ready to get off the this thing!" he griped.

"Well…" Captain Bartholomew began to explain as he stepped up besides the confused Baskar, "If you would notice, there are several large boulders and a very swift current that surrounds the shore." he said as he motioned in the direction of the island, "So much so that it would risk tearing apart the hull of my precious Sweet Candy, and stranding all of us at sea if we got any closer. So myself and my crew will paddle you the rest of the way there on dinghy's."

Gallows cocked his eyebrows. "What's a 'dinghy'? I don't think I like the sound of it…"

"Those" Captain Bartholomew pointed to a pair of small, wooden row boats that several of his crew members were busily preparing.

"You have got to be joking!" Gallows grumbled.

Minutes later everyone was loaded into the two dinghies, and being lowered to the churning seas below them. Cecilia, Rudy, Virginia, Gallows and a young sailor went in the first boat. Jack, Hanpan, Jet, Clive, the Captain, and another sailor were in the second. The wind continued to howl past them, whipping at their hair and clothes. With it was a salty mist that stung at everybody's eyes.

"That is some wind!" Cecilia shouted, holding on to her headband, while trying fruitlessly to keep her hair out of her face.

"It is!" The sailor nodded. "The seas are fighting me quite a bit!"

"Do you need some help?" Rudy offered.

"It's nothing… I can't handle. It is just going… to take us a while… longer until we reach land." The sailor grunted as he rowed.

"Wonderful…" Gallows grumbled, his face now even more pale than it was yesterday.

The sailor ended up being right. The trip took them almost an hour, having to fight their way to the beach. Before anyone could even finish landing the boats, Gallows took a flying leap off the dinghy and stumbled to his knees in the sand. "Land! Oh Guardians it's land! I never thought I would ever be so happy to see dirt again!" He cried out to the heavens, throwing his arms up over his head.

"That's sand, you idiot." Jet crossed his arms as he pointed it out very matter of fact.

"I don't care what it is! I'm still happy to have my feet on something not moving!" Gallows fired back.

Hanpan glanced over to Clive from his place on Jack's shoulder as Jet and Gallows' argument continued in the background. "Is he… going to be ok?" he asked him.

Clive chuckled at his question, "I believe so…but sometimes with Gallows you can never be too sure."

Captain Bartholomew briefly surveyed the sky before he turned to address the group. "It looks like you were right, Hanpan. Those are definitely storm clouds brewing off to the west. It is best that Herman, Jonas and myself head back to the Sweet Candy to weather it out. Do you all think you will be ok here, or do you want to head back? If the storm gets bad there will be no way we can come for you, and you will have to wait it out."

"When we flew overhead we saw some buildings. Maybe even houses. I am sure we can find some refuge if it gets bad." Rudy assured him as the others nodded in agreement.

"We are all drifters here, we have been through much worse." Virginia added in, confidently.

"Very well then. We will only take one dinghy back to the Sweet Candy, and leave the other here for you incase of an emergency. Take as long as you need to fulfill your mission. I will have someone keep watch on the island. whenever you are ready to head back, just signal for us right in this spot and we will come for you."

"Thank you again for all of your help." Cecilia said as she bowed to the captain.

They watched as Captain Bartholomew and his two sailors climbed into one of the dinghies, and headed back out for the Sweet Candy, before turning to face each other. "Shall we then?" Virginia suggested.

Together, the group faced towards the center of the island. There was no discernable path that led them through the densely wooded hill, up towards where they previously saw the buildings. The trek was treacherous one. Steep, with uneven footing and slippery moss covered rocks. The surrounding flora was thick, constantly snagging at their hair, clothes, and gear. The sounds of birds chirping and small animals scurrying past their feet surrounded them. Combined with the wind gusting through the trees, the sounds could at times be almost deafening.

"Sheesh, whoever lives here sure does like it remote." Gallows complained as he worked to free one of his braids from the brambles for the umpteenth time.

"That, or we all just approached from the wrong direction!" Hanpan shouted out from the safety of a pocket on Jacks duster.

"It looks like we are getting close to the top of the hill, and from overhead it looked like there's supposed to be clearing up there." Virginia said before ducking under a branch jutting straight out from the side of a tree.

Rudy felt a very odd, yet eerily familiar sensation come over him, causing him to abruptly stop in his tracks. He looked over his right shoulder, out into the trees.

Cecilia paused as she looked over at him. "Is something the matter?"

Confused, he cocked his eyebrows as stood in silence, continuing his stare.

"Did you see something?" Jack asked. No response. "Filgaia to Rudy! Anyone home in there?" he said as he waved his hand in front of Rudy's face

Rudy quickly shook himself out of his momentary trance, "I thought I…" he began to say, "never mind. Let's just keep going." he turned back toward the hill and continued walking. Jack shrugged at everyone before they all resumed hiking.

Near the top of the hill was a large clearing bordered by 5 small cottages. All but one appeared to be in complete disrepair. The only cottage that seemed as if someone could have been inhabiting it, looked like it had been patched up and repaired over time. Next to that one laid a narrow, cleared path that led further up the hill. Beside the repaired cottage was a small vegetable garden and further beyond that was a weather worn split rail fence on the edge of a rocky bluff.

"Its not often I get visitors to my island. State your purpose for coming here!" a young woman's voice called out.

Everyone's attention turned toward where the voice had come from. Next to the repaired cottage stood a girl who appeared to be in her late teens. Her long dark violet hair was tied up in a high pony tail, which swayed in the breeze. Long bangs framed her slender face, partially obscuring her narrowed amber colored eyes. She wore dark green pants tucked into tan leather boots, with a light yellow shirt which showed a slight amount of midriff. A long sleeved dusty rose colored jacket hung open, it too swayed slightly in the wind. Her right hand hovered over the hilt of a sheathed sword slung over her left hip.

Everyone except Rudy exchanged glances. He shifted uncomfortably, not taking his eyes off her. The strange sensation from earlier was even stronger now. It almost felt as if he knew her from somewhere.

Clive stepped forward, "Please miss, don't be alarmed. We are not here to cause you any trouble. As for our being here… well it is sort of a long story-" he began to explain.

"The Guardians sent you, did they not?" she responded.

"Yes!" Virginia spoke up, "The Guardians told us to come and find a person who is living on this island to help us!"

The teen relaxed her stance as she rubbed her chin with her right hand. "Interesting. I had a dream two nights ago about the Guardians sending a group of seven people here. I did not think much of it at first. But your being here now seems to be far more than mere coincidence. I just had to be sure of it first. As I stated, I do not receive many visitors here, apart from the occasional trader or treasure hunter."

"Oh good, I am glad you understand." Virginia said with a sigh of relief as she wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "We honestly weren't sure what we were going to tell you once we found you. But the truth is the Guardians-"

"Hold that thought, there is another more pressing matter I need to attend to first before we get to any of that." She said as she cut Virginia off. She stepped towards Rudy, looking straight into his eyes. "My apologies, as I do not have any other way of saying this to you, aside from being forthcoming like this, but.. It is good to finally be able to meet you… brother."

Dumbfounded, Rudy stumbled back a couple of steps before catching himself. He felt as if all the air suddenly left his lungs as everyone stared at the pair of them in disbelief.

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 **Author's note: Wha wha what?! Don't worry, I am not going Shyamalan on this. Just trust me. I do my OC's remarkably well, or so I have been told by my hard-ass betas. Also, since I rushed a head some with this, it is likely going to be a few weeks until my next update. Hope this can satiate you all for a while as I get caught up with other things.**

 **Fun fact: That exchange between Cecilia and Rudy is the first part to this story I ever wrote. Sort of. It was actually something I wrote just for funsies way waaaaay long ago, and decided it worked well for this story when I started penning it 13 years ago. And it has evolved so many times along the way, while still staying true to how I always pictured it. They are one of my forever OTPs. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Rachel

**Authors Note: Holy Cannoli guys! I DID NOT mean to let it go that long between updates. Bet you were starting to worry that this story was going to be doomed to obscurity (see what I did there?). This chap is under 6K, buuuut it is a little exposition heavy here and there. I am introducing an OC and related backstory, so I just wanted to get most of it out of the way nice and early. Warning, next chap is going to be a an exposition chapter too, as it is the second half of this one. I just made the decision to split into two shorter chapter rather than one tirelessly long info-dump. Hope you enjoy, and hope you enjoy the final team member.**

* * *

Rudy blinked a few times, "Wha…?" was all he could manage to utter out.

"You and I… are siblings… of sorts." she repeated. "Though I suppose calling us 'twins' would be more precise. The two of us were created here, on this very island, and separated shortly after our creation. I realize that this is all very sudden. But as I stated, there was no more delicate of a way for me to tell you."

He continued to stare at her blankly, trying to grasp the information he had just received as everyone else looked on. They all could not help but notice that the resemblance between them was unmistakable. They looked almost exactly alike. The girl being slightly shorter with more feminine facial features and a feminine physique.

"My name is Rachel. Rachel Derringer" she said before turned to face the repaired cottage. "Follow me." She beckoned everyone as she started off towards it.

Silently, completely unsure of what to say, everyone followed after Rachel. Cecilia took Rudy's right hand and gave it a small, reassuring squeeze. He kept his eyes cast downward as she uprooted him from his spot, and led him after everyone.

The main room of the wooden cottage was dominated by a faded old couch. A pair of arm chairs sat across from it with a coffee table between them. A couple of small end tables, a wood burning stove in the far corner, and two tall, narrow wood cabinets completed the seating area. A large wooden bookshelf ran along the entire span of the back wall. It was crammed with books to the point where a few looked like they were on the verge of being squeezed out. A large wooden writing desk sat against the wall adjacent to the bookshelf. It's surface covered with books, scattered papers, and notes. More notes were neatly pinned to the wall around it. A doorway to the left led to a bunk room with three sets of bunk beds situated around the perimeter walls. Rachel led the group through the doorway on the right. Inside was a cramped kitchen area. A large rectangular wooden table, with six chairs situated around it, sat in the middle of the room. The table also had all sorts of books, notes and archaic looking computer terminal pieces scattered across it in neat piles. More terminal pieces and circuit boards were piled in a corner of the kitchen.

Rudy sank into a chair, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his temples in his hands. Cecilia took the chair beside him. Clive, Virginia, and Gallows filed into the other seats. Jack leaned against a counter top and Jet leaned in the doorway. Rachel squeezed her way past so she could take the remaining seat at the head of the table on the far side of the room. An uncomfortable silence filled the air for several moments as everyone shifted their glances between Rudy and Rachel, waiting on baited breath for one of them to speak.

"Sorry…" Rudy finally broke the silence. "I don't even know where to begin with all of this. But how? How are you so certain?" he asked as he lifted his head from his hands and looked over at her.

"I knew who you were the very moment I saw you. You can feel it too. Our kind is able to detect one another's presence when we are in proximity to each other. You felt it back when I was following you in the woods. You looked right at me, you just did not know it yet." she answered, very matter of fact.

"That's all very interesting." Jack spoke up, "But we are going to need a lot more information than that. What exactly do you mean by 'sort of being twins' and 'created here'?"

Rachel shifted her weight in her seat, thinking of how to word what she was going to say next. "Are you aware of what you are? Of the Holmcross?" She asked, delicately.

Rudy looked down at the table, solemnly nodding once. Virginia, Clive, Gallows and Jet all gave each other confused looks.

"Some of us are aware of the Holmcross." Cecilia responded, placing a hand on Rudy's shoulder.

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah Good. At least you are already aware of that, which makes this easier for me to explain, and at least one less shock for you today. I would hate to have to inform you that you are also not human, on top of the revelation of having a long lost twin." She paused, clearing her throat so that she could continue.

"As I am hoping you already know, the original Holmcross were created during the Great Demon War one thousand years ago. At first they were being hailed as a major technological breakthrough. However, the project ultimately proved to be a resounding failure due to their mental instability and murderous intent. The existing Holmcross, as well as their prototype, were said to have been destroyed and their remains sunk to the bottom of the sea. All knowledge of their existence was to be wiped from human history. I am not sure how or why, but that is not what ended up being the case. The Holmcross were destroyed and the prototype was indeed decommissioned. However, his body was left fully intact. He was sealed within a vault buried underground- outside what is presently the village of Milama. A Guardian temple was erected over the site. Perhaps it was believed that the Guardian's presence would keep him sealed there for eternity."

Cecilia gasped as her eyes widened, "You mean _that_ Guardian temple? The old, abandoned one that has fallen into disrepair and is owned by the old barkeep in town?!"

Rachel nodded. "Ah, so you are familiar with it then? As fate would have it, human belief in Guardians waned over time. As the Guardians powers diminished, human presence at the temple also ceased. About 27 years ago, a scientist and explorer discovered the dark secret buried under the temple ruins. Along with the Holmcross' remains, he also uncovered all of the research material and experiment details, along with stores of the living metal used for their creation . All of which were supposed to have been destroyed. He took great interest in the subject as he researched it.

"With the increasing threat of monsters encroaching on humans, as well as the threats of war and instability humanity placed upon itself, he figured that there was great potential in reviving the experiment. But he believed that he would be able to accomplish what the human and Elw before him had not- mental stability. He presented his findings to his colleagues and they agreed to start the project anew on this island. They speculated that in making the Holmcross less machine like and more human, that they could create something truly sentient, capable of understanding human emotion.

"After several failed attempts at making the new models continuing to be mentally unstable, one of the scientists hypothesized a radical new approach. Rather than build an artificial human, they should instead grow one, as if it were a human child. A being that had the ability to learn humanity over time, but would also possess the desired strengths and qualities of a Holmcross.

"The reproductive DNA of a young female scientist was merged with the living metal. Two fetuses were created and grown in the lab. Two small children were born successfully, which marked a great advancement in the technology. However, just over a year after their birth; an older model, previously thought to be the most stable one created so far, broke free of her confinement. She went on a rampage through the lab, killing nearly every scientist. The 'mother' used in the experiment tried to escape with the two young creations, whom she regarded as her own children. The male was ripped from her arms by the lead scientist, intent on destroying them, fearing another disaster would happen. The woman managed to escape with the female one and took her to live in secret amongst the rest of the world."

Rudy raised his head and locked eyes with Rachel as she continued, "For the longest time our mother feared that you were indeed destroyed. After she passed away almost three years ago, I returned here in hopes of finding answers. Evidence suggested that you survived, and were taken away from the island. I searched all across Filgaia in hopes of finding you. After being unsuccessful, I returned here to watch over the island and protect its secrets, and to ensure personally that history shall never be repeated."

"So… you two ain't human then?" Jet spoke up, turning everyone's attention on him.

"No." Rachel said flatly. She paused for a moment, eyeing him up and down as she studied him. "However…we are entirely different creations from you. We were created from demon material. The energy that you give off is more akin to… the life essence of the planet..."

Jet went wide eyed as he was taken aback, "S-shut up! That's… that's not what I asked you!" He stammered.

"Then why did you bring it up?" Rachel tilted her head questioningly. Everyone else glanced around anxiously, except Rudy who had his forehead in his hands, trying to process everything.

"Wait, wait, wait" Jack cut in. "So does that mean that he isn't-" He asked as he motioned his thumb towards Jet.

"Just…never mind!" Jet hissed through gritted teeth before Jack could finish his sentence.

Hanpan leaped from Jack's shoulder and over on to the table where he started to pace back and fourth. "Alright look everyone. We need to stay focused here. We can all sit around and play human or not human later on. For the record, I am team 'not human'."

Rudy abruptly stood up and without saying anything left the cabin for outside. Everyone was silent again until Clive cleared his throat. "Hanpan is right. We can get caught up on the details later." he then looked over at Rachel imploringly. "Long story short, the Guardians have summoned us all together because a great threat is upon us. One that could threaten the delicate balance of all Filgaias across time and space. Would you please be willing to lend us your strength in the fight?"

Rachel nodded without hesitation. "My very existence was intended for the protection of this planet. I cannot achieve that by remaining here. And if it means finally being reunited with my long lost brother, whom I spent years searching for, then yes, I shall join you."

After everyone took the time to introduce themselves to their new comrade, Cecilia left to look for Rudy. She found him behind Rachel's cottage, leaning his forearms against the split rail fence, looking out over the rocky bluff. The crashing sea far beneath were being driven by increasingly gusty winds.

"Hey." she said as she approached him. "Do you mind if I join you? Or would you rather be alone right now?"

Rudy glanced back over his shoulder and smiled at her. "You know I would never say no to your company, Cecilia."

She stood beside him and placed her hand on his. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked, brushing her windswept hair out of her face.

"Yeah" he nodded. "All of this is really sinking in right now. And I just felt like I needed some fresh air to help clear my head. Sorry if I worried you."

"I can only imagine how much all of this is weighing you down right now. I wish I knew what to say, other than that I love you, and I am here for you."

"I love you too." He said as he turned his hand over, intertwining his fingers with hers. "And hearing that from you helps so much."

Cecilia brought his hand up to her face and held it against her cheek as she looked up at him. He reached out with his other arm and pulled her into a tight embrace. Wordlessly, they stood there holding each other for several minutes. Beyond them, a roll of thunder echoed in the distance. "Rachel decided to join us in our fight." Cecilia said quietly, her head nestled against his chest.

"That's good" He responded, his cheek resting against the top of her head. The two pulled apart and gazed at one another before Rudy's attention was interrupted by sensing Rachel approach him. "Hey." He greeted her as he released Cecilia and turned to face his twin.

She responded with a curt nod. "I hope you are feeling well after learning about all of this. I realize that you probably have many questions, and that we have much to talk about going forward. However for starters, I think a more appropriate introduction is in order. After all, you have not even told me your name yet."

"Oh right…" Rudy sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. "It's Rudy… Roughnight."

"I see…" She responded, eyeing him and Cecilia, appearing to be in deep thought for a moment.. "So I take it you two are a couple then?"

"Uh… yeah"

"Very well."

A loud clap of thunder boomed from the dark clouds that were quickly engulfing the sky above. A fine mist proceeding the encroaching rain blew across them, feeling cold against their skin. Rachel looked up at the sky, studying the clouds. "It would appear that the storm is finally upon us. You should come inside soon. It gets very windy on this hill when the weather turns foul. The others are preparing a meal for everyone as well." And with that she turned and headed back down the path towards her home.

"She seems very… different". Cecilia said as they watched Rachel walk away.

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know how to describe it. Just different."

Rudy shrugged, "This is all probably just as new and awkward for her as it is for me." The wind began to pick up even more as another roar of thunder, even louder than the last, rang out over them. Cold sharp rain drops started to fall from the sky. "We should head back before we get wet." He shouted over the storm he took Cecilia's hand and lead her back over toward the cottage. They broke into a sprint as the rain began to come down harder, pelting against them.

Behind the cabin, they came across Jack, Jet, and Hanpan, who were out gathering vegetables from the garden for diner. "Shit! That came on fast!" Jet cursed.

"Just grab what you can and get inside before we get soaked!" Jack shouted back to him as Hanpan dove for cover in Jacks coat pocket. Cecilia and Rudy stopped to quickly help them gather up their harvest and get inside just as the rain became a torrential downpour. The four of them piled into the main room, sopping wet.

Gallows and Virginia peeked out from around the corner of the kitchen doorway. "Did you get a little damp out there?" Gallows teased as Virginia giggled into her hand. The sound of rain pounding the roof was so loud it were as if someone upended a bucket of hammers over it.

"Very funny…" Jack scowled indignantly at them, slicking his bangs out of his face as he headed into the kitchen with the others to drop off the Vegetables. Inside the small kitchen Gallows and Virginia resumed tending to some pots and pans cooking on a small wood burning cook top, as Clive worked at the counter, helping to prepare the rest of the meal. Rachel had busied herself clearing off the table, and was now seated at, it wiping down some extra dishes she had pulled out of storage for them to use.

Rachel looked up from her work at her brother and new companions. "Unfortunately I do not have much in the way of towels. But there is a cabinet in the other room with several extra blankets. You can help yourselves to them. It also would be a good idea to start up the wood stove in there as well. If you would not mind."

"Sure, no problem." Rudy said as he and the others began to leave the kitchen. He paused, turning back to face his sister. "Thank you for your hospitality this evening. It's appreciated."

Cecilia stopped and turned back as well. "Yes. Thank you so much for taking us all in tonight."

"Well, I briefly considered forcing you all to sleep out in the storm. Though I still have not fully reconsidered." Rachel said nonchalantly as she twisted the corner of her lips into a slight smirk.

Gallows tensed up as he glanced wearily over his shoulder at her. "I hope you are not being serious…"

"No. By everyone, I just meant you." she said, maintaining her nonchalant tone as she turned her focus back to wiping down dishes.

"And here I am, cooking dinner for everyone…" He grumbled as he went back to stirring the large stockpot in front of him.

Cecilia couldn't help but giggle at their antics. "Is there anything we can do to help?" she asked.

"We have enough cooks in the kitchen right now." Virginia was the one to answer. "The three of us keep bumping into each other enough as is. But you guys are more than welcome to handle the dishes and clean up."

"Ok. We will then." Cecilia said as she and Rudy left.

Back in the main room Jack had put himself to work getting a fire started in the wood stove as Jet deposited an arm full of blankets on to the arm of the sofa. He took one for himself and flopped down into one of the arm chairs, cocooning the blanket around him. Cecilia and Rudy took the couch together. Cecilia grabbed a large wool blanket and threw it over her and Rudy. Hanpan sat down on the floor in front of the wood stove after Jack finished lighting it, holding up his paws to the heat.

"That should do the trick." Jack said, standing up, wiping his hands off on his jeans. He took his own blanket and sat down in the remaining arm chair and rested his head back. "Why do I feel so exhausted right now?" He asked aloud.

"Its been a big day." Cecilia said as a shiver ran through her.

"Are you cold?" Rudy asked as he looked over at Cecilia, putting his arm over her shoulders.

"Hey Rudy," Jack began as he sat up, spreading the blanket across his lap. "Did you know that the best way to help a girl keep warm is by getting naked together and sharing your body heat?"

Both Rudy and Cecilia's faces went a deep shade of crimson. "Jack…" Cecilia gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"Wait! Did I just hear somebody say they are getting naked out there?!" Gallows called out from the kitchen. "Ouch! Hey no hitting the cook!" He scolded Virginia after she backhanded him across the arm. Clive had to bite his lip as he shook his head, fighting hard to stifle his laughter.

"Ugh No!" Cecilia shouted back at him. "Nobody is getting naked! Guardians…" She huffed as he rubbed her hands over her eyes.

"Seriously though." Jack leaned forward, lowering his voice. "It does work. I'm from Artica, I know what I am talking about." He winked.

"…Have you actually tried it?' Rudy asked curiously. He looked over and saw Cecilia scowling at him.

Jack laughed heartily. "Did I ever use that one to hit on girls? Nah. _Buuut_ I have had my fair share of girlfriends over the years, and let's leave it at that." he said with a devilish grin.

Cecilia groaned as she buried her face into her palms. "I can not believe we are even having this conversation right now."

"Just the facts of life, Princess. Some day you'll get it."

"That does not mean that I want to hear about it, or talk about it."

"You guys are ridiculous." Jet grumbled as he pulled his blanket over his head in an attempt to shut them out.

"Aww don't worry Jet." Gallows voice caught their attention. They all looked over to where he was standing in the doorway. "I am sure that even you will graduate from boy to man some day too. Anyway, food will be ready in about five." He said before he turned and walked back into the kitchen as Jet peeked out from under his blanket to shot one of his darkest death glares in the Baskar's direction.

"See! He gets it!" Jack laughed.

"You're all freaking perverts." Jet said as he retreated back to under his blanket.

"Excuse me? Not all of us are perverts here." Hanpan said, defensively. "Just those two dimwits."

"Ahem. So, changing topics," Cecilia began. "How did you guys end up out there gathering vegetables in the first place?"

"Blame his evil twin." Jet said, his voice muffled by the blanket as he pointed in Rudy's direction.

"Evil?" Rudy asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, evil." Jet said as he peered back out from under the blanket. "I didn't think it would ever be possible to meet somebody who was even bossier than Virginia. Until now. In my book, that's evil."

"You know, we can hear you guys!" Virginia shouted out to them. "And just for that one Jet, the most difficult to scrape pans now have your name on them!"

"Ugh, whatever." Jet growled, pulling the blanket back over his face.

The five of them spent the next several minutes sitting in silence, listening to the storm rage on outside as they warmed up until dinner was ready. "Alright everyone!" Gallows called out. "Soups on!"

"Ooooh soup!" Cecilia's eyes brightened up as she, along with everyone else stood up.

"Uh Cecilia, I believe that is more of a turn of phrase, and does not actually mean there is soup." Hanpan said.

Gallows was heaving the large stock pot on to the table as they all walked in. "No, there really is soup." he corrected Hanpan, "My take on a Baskar lentil and rice soup to be precise. And by 'my take', I mean I am missing a bunch of the usual ingredients and had to improvise."

"Yup, we have Gallows' mystery soup, an unusual assortment of stir fried vegetables that I did a mostly good job with, and a limited amount of left over smoked fish that Rachel wanted used up." Virginia said, carrying two platters of cooked veggies over to the table, Clive following with a couple plates of fish. "Oh and Jet," Virginia continued, looking over at him after setting her platters down. "I really did a number on one of those pans." She winked at him.

"Not to mention, the evil twin does not have running hot water in this room. So you are going to have your work cut out for you tonight." Rachel added in.

Jet rolled his eyes, "Greeeeat." he groaned..

"Unfortunately I only have enough room to seat six at the table." Rachel apologized.

"It's no big deal. I'll stand." Gallows said. "I could use it after being in bed the whole time on the ship. And I know I am gonna be in bed again the whole way back."

"Hell, I'll stand too." Jet offered as well. "I don't wanna feel squeezed in anywhere." Everyone else filled in around the table and loaded their plates and bowls with food as they settled in to begin eating.

"Gallows, you did an excellent job with this soup. Thank you so much for making it!" Cecilia complimented him as she stood up to ladle herself her third bowl.

"Oh well thanks," Gallows said with a shrug. "I think it tastes kinda bland myself. But the way my family has always made it- it usually has more of a kick to it."

"Actually, considering what we had to work with, I think you did a pretty fair job of it." Virginia said. "I mean, sure the one your grandma makes is amazing. But this is really good too. I kind of like the variation. And it sure beats my vegetables."

"I really like those to though." Cecilia assured her. "Sure they are not things you usually stir fry together. But I think you did well."

"Aw thanks!" Virginia smiled. "I know I am not the best cook in the world, but I can work my way around the kitchen. Honestly though, I think I just need more practice at it. But my aunt loves to cook so much that it is hard for her to let me take over once in a while."

Cecilia frowned. "I can't cook at all. It's… always been done for me my whole life. I tried learning how to over a campfire when I became a wanderer. That usually ended with me getting frustrated and burning something, Rudy having to take over, and Jack laughing about it for the rest of the night."

"Oh but campfires are hard to cook over. I know I had a rough time learning to cook that way when I first set out."

"I believe everyone has a hard time cooking over a campfire from time to time. Even I have had my fair share of troubles with it. Honestly I would prefer not to do it at all if I could." Clive admitted.

"And then there is Rudy, the campfire chef." Hanpan said, looking over at the teen.

Rudy shrugged. "It's just the way I was raised. My grandpa and I probably spent more time wandering than actually living somewhere. The odd thing is that I can't cook on a stove at all. Anything more than boiling a tea kettle, I'll just make a huge mess of."

"Eh, who needs cooking at all when there is plenty of canned food anyway? Like, what's the point?" Jet asked.

"But what about the types of things that are better if you heat them?" Cecilia asked him.

Virginia shook her head. "Not for Jet. I have seen him eat things like regular old kidney beans, straight from the can, cold."

Jack's jaw dropped in disgust. "Just… why?!" He asked him as Cecilia shared in on his repulsion.

"Whatever, it get's me by." Jet answered, heading over towards the table to get more soup.

Jack suddenly laughed out loud. "Oh man I just had a fun thought. I could see Rudy being an old hermit living in the woods someday, who just cooks all of his food over a campfire after nearly burning half of his house down trying to use a stove."

Rudy shot Jack an offended look. "Why would you think any of that?"

"I dunno. Knowing you, it just makes sense I guess."

Cecilia, unable to contain herself broke out into a fit of laughter. She looked over and saw Rudy looking over at her, less than amused. "Hey! You laughed at Jack's chocolate cake insult the other day."

"Fair enough." he sighed.

"Oh oh oh! I got one!" Gallows waved his hand at them. "Jet could be his neighbor, living off of nothing but canned food. And the only utensils he would even have in his house would be a fork, and a can opener."

"Oh, you mean kind of like his current set of traveling supplies?" Virginia said as she started to laugh.

"Oh screw all of you…" Jet scowled at them.

Virginia calmed her laughter as she leaned over and looked down the table at Rachel. "You've been awfully quiet this whole time. Everything ok?" she asked her.

Rachel nodded. "It is. I just do not have anything to contribute to the conversation at this time."

"Ummm, ok then. Can we ask you a few questions?"

"I don't see why not."

"How long have you been living here."

"As I stated previously, I first came to this island almost three years ago. I spent close to a year after that wandering in search of Rudy. After that, I returned here and have remained ever since with occasional excursions to the mainland for supplies."

"How have you been getting by all this time?" Hanpan asked next.

"I have a working relationship with a merchant ship that frequents these waters. It was them who first brought me here. I used to barter passage in exchange for the extra produce I garden and procure from the island. Once teleport gems became available, I became able to travel between mainland and here on my own and at will. But the sailors do still visit to check up on me from time to time."

"I noticed you carry a sword." Jack was the next to ask. "Is it going too far out on a limb to wager that you are a sword fighter then?"

"Actually, I am not much of a fighter at all. My weapon is mostly for defense when the need arises-"

"Well if you ain't a fighter, then exactly what good are you going to be to us?" Jet cut her off.

Virginia slammed her fist down on the table as she whipped around in her chair to face him. "Jet! Don't be rude!" She scolded him. A few of the others glared in his direction as well.

"There is no need to worry." Rachel assured them. "I take no offense. And he raises a valid point. The lives of everyone here are reliant upon the rest of the team to function effectively. A weak link could result in injury or worse. It is right to be mindful of the strengths and weaknesses of a new ally"

"See!" Jet motioned his hand in Rachel's direction. "I _was_ getting at something there."

"To be fair, I was thinking the same thing." Clive said as he came to Jet's defense. "Albeit more tactfully." he pushed his glasses up. "Miss Rachel, could you please tell us what it is that you are able to offer us?"

"Yes. As I stated I was not primarily made for fighting. All of those skills were given to my brother. In fact, I am incapable of using ARM as a weapon at all. My strengths lie outside of direct battle. I am able to analyze and detect enemy weaknesses, as well as formulate effective battle strategy. I posses many skills with various technologies and posses the ability to interact with much of it beyond human capability. I can not use ARM weapons, but I can utilize ARM in… other ways."

"Wait, so you can tell us before we even begin battle what an enemy is weak to, and how to defeat it?" Jack asked her.

"Precisely." She nodded.

"Already looking to replace me as traveling partner?" Hanpan asked him.

"I'm thinking about it." Jack joked with him.

Clive drummed his finger against his temple as he thought. "So, you've said that your skills are not battle oriented, and Rudy's are. Is that why there are in fact two of you?" he asked.

Rachel nodded. "That is a very astute observation. I am indeed the antithesis of Rudy. As I stated earlier, Holmcross were created to be the perfect soldier, capable of combat far beyond human capacity. Does it not make sense that an equally capable strategist would be needed to guide them?"

"Yeah it sure does." Jack said. "Kind of sounds like the ideals my old knight squadron would use."

"However, things go one step further than that. A rather dark, and very controversial step. At least in my opinion." Rachel paused, drawing in a deep breath before she continued. "If you recall, I mentioned that all of the prior Holmcross created exhibited mental instability and murderous tendencies. There was an idea that perhaps they could have their minds controlled any time they began to act out. On top of being bestowed with strategic skills, I… was also given that ability as well. That is why I am unable to utilize ARM as a weapon. Instead I am able to enforce my will on it completely, same goes for other Holmcross. It is also why I was given a twin. It is simply not feasible for one being to be capable of doing everything on it's own. I needed protection. That is why Rudy was created, to act as my defender."

The entire room was silent as everyone processed what they had just heard.

Clive was the first one to speak up. "I see… As sordid as it is, the logic does make sense."

Virginia clapped her hands over her mouth. "That's… really awful."

"It explains a lot though…" Rudy said quietly.

Jack looked over at him, cocking an eyebrow. "What? You mean how you always so willingly put yourself in the path of danger for others without a second thought? Yeah that more or less explains it all."

Rudy nodded, "I could never figure out why I always seemed to just… act without thinking. It always felt like a reflex. Now I know why. My sole purpose is to protect at all costs, wasn't it?" He asked, looking over at his sister.

"Simply put, yes."

Hanpan rubbed at the side of his head. "Hold on, I have one more question then. If all of the other Holmcross before you were unstable, why did they put faith in you being any different? From the sounds of it, it might as well have been a crap shoot."

"I have wondered that myself. My only guess is because of the new approach they took. Here is my hypothesis-" Rachel began to explain. "The original nature of demons, and subsequently living metal, was and is to destroy life. Then, you take those same materials, imbued with thousands of years of bloodlust and try to make it see itself as something it is not. Try to make it protect that which it was born to kill. Add a in the fact that it can not even fully identify with itself anymore, and lacked any and all autonomy despite the programmed intellect and you end up with a disaster. Now, on to the case of Rudy and myself. The scientists hypothesized that since they created the closest thing possible to an artificial human, the being would have no inherent desire to harm them. Seeing as how I have never killed a human in my life, and Rudy comes off as being as intimidating as a box of puppies, I would suffice to say that their experiment was a complete success."

A couple of snorts and giggles were heard across the table and kitchen. Cecilia and Virginia's cheeks went red as they exchanged glances. Cecilia gasped as brought her fingers to her lips. "I just got a mental image of Rudy playing with a bunch of puppies-"

"Me too…" Virginia responded.

"It's adorable!"

"I know!"

Rudy's forehead crashed into the palms of his hands. "Ugh… man…" he groaned under his breath.

Jack reached over and clapped Rudy on the shoulder. "And any shred of manliness you may have acquired over the past 24 hours is officially gone." He grinned, barely able to contain his amusment.

"You have my condolences." Hanpan added in, patting him on the arm.

* * *

 **Authors note: The sequel: So, that is Rachel, a character created by me, many many years ago, when my mind actually thought that kind of thing was a good idea. All of the backstory content is my original idea, crafted to fit into the vaguely established Holmcross origins provided in WA and ACF.**

 **But wait there's more. You may (or may not) have noticed that there is a little something by me in the Mature section of this little nook in the Wild Arms fandom. That lil' diddy will be hitting it's climax hopefully in the next week here, time and health permitting. It is completely drafted. I just need to take the time to fix it up, polish it off and make it more coherent than my in-cohesive 3am ramblings. Also, I have a little something for Jet and Virginia (also unrelated to this story) that I have half drafted, which will also be very VERY M rated. Annnnnd lastly, I have finally decided to go forward with my dream of becoming a published author, which I must confess, is the real reason for my absence. I have been in an intensive info-dumping stage for the last month. And just an FYI, if you like Wild Arms so damn much (just like I do) I will say that you might just find it worth your while. And no I am not publishing a dolled-up fan fiction. I don't believe in that.**


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